Oregon - In November, Vote No On Tillamook And Clatsop State Forests 50/50 Plan

[woody]

Posted for Mark...quite sure he'll chime in here soon...
------------------------------------------------------------------------

IF YOU LIVE IN OR NEAR OREGON or ever wish to run the Browns Camp area like
the "Crusher's" (up and coming big rocks in OR) read this and vote NO in Nov. on 34.

If anyone has questions on this please let me know. This will be a major fight for everyone in the Pacific North West. If you have never gotten fired up about an issue before, this is the one. IF ANYONE SLEEPS ON THIS WE WILL LOOSE.

Mark Hawley
President
Cascade Cruisers, Inc.
Portland OR,
Chapter of the Toyota Land Cruiser Association (TLCA)



This is from SEMA's action network:

IN NOVEMBER, VOTE NO ON TILLAMOOK AND CLATSOP STATE FORESTS 50/50 PLAN

Initiative petition #120
Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests 50/50 Plan
The Tillamook Rainforest Coalition appears to have obtained enough signatures to get the Tillamook 50/50 Plan on the Oregon ballot in November 2004. This plan will replace the Northwest Oregon State Forest Management Plan approved by the Oregon Board of Forestry in January 2001 which took 5 years of planning to create.

The 50/50 plan states that it will dedicate 50% of the Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests to protect drinking water, fish and wildlife habitat, and recreation, while the remaining 50% will be dedicated to sustainable timber production.

An independent restoration science team or "IRST" will decide which areas will make up the 50% of the land open to recreation and logging, and which 50% will be closed for protection of drinking water, and fish and wildlife habitat. These areas are not pre-designated. The IRST has complete discretion to designate the 50% of the land to be closed. At best, this is a overly broad grant of unchecked power. At worst, this science team could arbitrarily close off lands to all users, including recreational areas. Further, the IRST is not paid wages, but is reimbursed for any expenses incurred. The reimbursement totals 10% of the timber harvest for 10 years. The amount of expenses cannot be predicted. Further, if expenses exceed more than 10% of the timber harvest, it is possible that Oregonians might have to pay more tax dollars under this proposal.

Schools are guaranteed the 2002/2003 budget level of timber revenue. If timber revenue decreases due to less logging, Oregonians will have to make up the shortfall by paying additional taxes.

Worst of all, if this plan is adopted, it will come up for review only once every 20 years! There appears to be no mechanism in place to revisit the plan's provisions should something need to be changed or adjusted.

Until now, the public has enjoyed the Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests through hunting, biking, hiking, motorcycling, four wheeling, climbing, rally racing, and horseback riding, to name a few activities. All of this could vanish in an instant, through the stroke of a science team's pen. For all of these reasons, in concert with our hobbyist contacts in the Pacific Northwest, we recommend that you vote against the Tillamook 50/50 Plan in November.

For further information, please contact Conrad Wong at conradw@sema.org.

[helocat]

First off WOODY you rock. Gees guys I e-mail him this AM asking where can I post this major land use issue and the guy goes and adds a new forum to the site!

IF YOU KNOW ANYONE IN OREGON, talk, write a letter, e-mail, Morse code anything, just let them know about the above post.

This is one of those things we all fear will happen to our favorite wheeling grounds. IT is happening to Oregon and Washington. (A lot of people from Washington come down to wheel/ride this area.) It is now on the ballot for sure and is designated Measure #34. (NO on 34!) The people that put it there are singing a big song about a balance of conservation and logging, yet this would completely destroy a plan that took 5 years to put together that is working well for the forest, economy and recreation use.

This is the same area where the Cascade Cruisers host the TLCA event “Cruisin’ the Woods”! We loose this battle the TLCA will most likely lose this event due to land closure.

I am waiting to hear back from SEMA (Specialty Equipment Manufactures Association, the same SEMA that puts on the big trade show every year seen in the magazines.) This will be a huge battle for us since the party that put this on the ballot has a year and a half head start.

If you have any questions please let me know! I will post up as I find out new information about how we are fighting this.

Mark Hawley
President
Cascade Cruisers, Inc.
Portland, OR
A TLCA Club