BLUE RIVER TRAGEDY Just 60 miles east of Eugene, 500 year old trees are slated to be cut. It is part of the scenic Blue River area that boasts one of the highest spotted owl populations in the area. Volunteers have looked long and hard and found physical evidence of sensitive and threatened species. The Forest Service and the timber company that now "owns" these trees are deciding to turn a blind eye to the evidence in your forests – our forests. But you would never know that by the decisions that are allowed to happen in our name. This is surprising to me since the public overwhelmingly supports protection of old growth forests, upward from 80 percent. In a sinister yet calculated way, the Bush administration has stealthily dismantled the protections of wildlife that live in our mature forests. Along with that, the administration has been doing away with the public comments process and the safeguards inherent in the democratic process. What happens when the public owns the land and can act on that right? Right now we have an out and out attack on everything that is of value to our lives. If I read another half-baked excuse that more things necessary to my life have to die to make another millionaire excessively rich, I don't know what I'm going to do. Already the "rationales" are flying to log the Elliot Forest and the upcoming massacre in the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area known as the Biscuit Salvage. It will never be enough. The timber barons have been saying since the '80s that they plan on being "sustainable" and it hasn't happened yet. There is absolutely no reason to believe they ever will. But this problem will not solve itself. Nothing less than us getting on the phones, putting the message out in public and letting our public officials know exactly where their responsibilities lie, will do. For our forests, there is nothing else I'd rather do. Kerstin Britz, Cottage Grove   WILDLANDS & ECONOMY Greg Vranizan questions Oregon Natural Resources Council's commitment to promoting wilderness protection and lack of commitment to communities (3/25). We don't feel there is any disconnect between our work to save wildlands and a healthy economy. ONRC remains diligent in our work to see more wild forests protected for future generations because previous generations of decision-makers failed to do so. Sens. Packwood and Hatfield had a stranglehold on land protection in Oregon for decades, and the clearcuts that riddle our public forestlands are a testament to their lack of initiative. We owe a debt of thanks to people like Rep. Jim Weaver for the places that are saved, but even with their tireless work, less than 4 percent of Oregon is protected as wilderness, compared to 10 percent of Washington and 13 percent of California. Thoreau said, "In wildness is the preservation of the world." Wilderness areas can also be the preservation of our economy. Logged wildlands lose their value for recreation and produce few, short-term jobs. Look at the proposed Biscuit Fire "Recovery" logging — the timber industry predicts that the largest, most aggressive timber sale in modern history will have little affect on employment. Conversely, look at the vibrancy of communities like Sandy and Sisters, which are the gateway communities to wildland recreation. This is not to suggest that there are not stable, well-paying jobs to be had. As Mr. Vranizan notes, issues such as "how to manage NW forests in an ecologically sound, socially acceptable, politically sustainable way" have not been resolved. The rekindled controversy about logging old growth forests, however, shifts resources away from where nearly everyone agrees they should be spent on restoring complexity and resiliency to our public forests. We must reduce fuels near homes and communities. We must replace culverts that impair fish passage. We must thin hundreds of thousands of acres of young, dense stands that were clearcut and planted decades ago. These projects will produce wood fiber and jobs, as well as promote the development of forests that support wildlife and clean water. ONRC actively promotes these alternatives to logging ancient forests and wildlands. We recognize that a healthy economy and a healthy ecosystem must be diverse. Instead of fighting over the last scraps of wildlands and ancient forests, we believe we should throw our collective weight behind getting common sense work done. Jeremy Hall, ONRC, Eugene   SHORTING DEMOCRACY In 2002 Scott Meisner initiated and succeeded in having passed a change in the City Council process. That change resulted in having Monday night meetings, which are the only meetings open to public comment, end at 10 pm. It does not matter what is on the agenda. This has resulted in allowing citizens who want to speak on an issue little or no time. Also voting in favor of this change was Nancy Nathanson. The City Council is the governing body of our community. Monday night meetings are the times when we get to voice opinions about the actions of the council. If we can't speak then, when will they hear us? It is time to take our democracy back, not only from George W. Bush, but also from Scott Meisner and Nancy Nathanson. On May 18, I hope you have voted for those who believe in hearing from you and not those who don't. Michael Carrigan, Eugene   ARTISTIC VISION I had occasion to view Margaret Via's lovely retrospect last week at the Maude Kerns Art Center. As a landscape artist, Via is aware of the history and current issues around her chosen subject matter; otherwise, her results might be naïve, and unlikely to move the viewer. However, Via's unique drawings and paintings conceptually reduce the natural/manmade world into calculated markings describing the ethereal essence of light in the outdoor environment. Via's landscape art is in the gap between the actual landscape of inspiration and the resulting abstraction as seen in Urban Wall, Atlanta, 1977 and if a canvas is a close approximation of the scene it represents, we might admire its resultant artwork for the experience of nature. We have become accustomed, particularly since abstract expressionism, to look for the nature not so much the scene as of the artist — Jackson Pollock's I am Nature. I would go so far as to say that the content of Margaret Via's body of work reflects issues of formalism as well as transient personal emotion. Her distillation of nature is in the area of what is absent. What's missing, not readily apparent in the concrete appearance of nature, becomes the defining quality of her landscape painting. Human consciousness may be the focal point at which the value to both the artist and the viewer of landscapes is the out flowing of oneself into this more open state that will never be the property of a single individual. Eugene artists often feel isolated from the broader art world; their personal pain of so many local artists exists in large part because artists become dispirited in a culture that pays accountants more than it pays artists, and so the visual artist not only faces rejection – they must find a means of support that will not drain them of spirit. But most importantly of all, the visual artist must continue doing and being artistic, and remain engaged with the part of themselves that produces art. I admire Margaret Via's ability as a landscape artist and her continued artistic vision. This is and exhibition not to be missed by one of Eugene's most accomplished visual artists. Mike Walsh, Eugene     LETTERS POLICY: We print as many letters as space allows. Please limit length to 250 words and submissions to once a month. All letters are subject to editing for length and clarity, and must include address and phone number. E-mail to editor@eugeneweekly.com, fax to 484-4044, or mail to 1251 Lincoln, Eugene 97401.
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