Oregon: Cash-strapped county gives loads of money to lobbying group to increase clearcutting
While the “public strongly supports protection of mature & old-growth”
forests, Oregon Wild said the AOCC takes the “extreme” and unrealistic
position of wanting to return to old-growth logging without
environmental laws protecting drinking water, recreation, livability,
salmon, owls and other endangered species. Lane County has given
$700,000 to a timber industry lobbying group to push for radical
increases in old-growth clearcuts in the name of all county citizens,
according to the environmental group Oregon Wild.
Get full text; support writer, producer of the words:
http://www.oregonwild.org/about/press-room/press-clips/county-funds-timber-lobby
Oregon Wild calculates that Lane County, supposedly desperately
strapped for cash for more than a decade, has given almost $700,000 in
membership dues and fees to the Association of O&C Counties (AOCC)
overthe past 15 years. The AOCC clearcut lobbying is not in the
financial or environmental interests of county citizens, Oregon Wild
argues in letters to the Lane County Board of Commissioners, “but only
in the interests of the timber industry.”
The environmental group urges the county to withdraw its funding for the “timber industry lobbying group” and dissociate itself from its “radical”logging positions. The AOCC called for going even beyond the Bush administration’s WOPR proposal to increase old-growth clearcutting seven-fold, Oregon Wild noted. The environmental group also noted AOCC’s recent “shocking proposal to sell off 1.2 million acres of ecologically valuable public forest lands.”
Get full text; support writer, producer of the words:
http://www.oregonwild.org/about/press-room/press-clips/county-funds-timber-lobby
Historically, Lane County’s economy has been based on timber and agriculture. Agriculture is important because of the fertile soil and moderate climate that exists in the Willamette Valley, making this valley one of the most productive farming areas in the nation.However, with the reductions in timber harvesting, and the continued pressure of population growth on many agricultural areas, these have become less important in the economic development of the county. Growth in the next decades is predicted to shift away from these two pursuits to services, manufacturing of transportation equipment, printing and publishing, and high technology.
A major manufacturer of recreation vehicles, Monaco Coach Corporation, is headquartered in Coburg, and operates one of four manufacturing plants there. Another major economic asset is the University of Oregon in Eugene. Lastly, with access to the mountains and the coast, tourism makes a noticeable contribution to the county’s economy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lane_County,_Oregon