Organic Farmers Lead Protest Against Forest Clear Cut in Oregon

Organic Farmers Lead Protest Against Forest Clear Cut in Oregon
Monday, June 11, 2001 9:43 PM

Boise Cascade threatens organic farmers with herbicide spraying

PRESS RELEASE 6/8/01 Organic Farmers Unite to Protect Williams
Watershed
Contact: Joseph Flaherty at the Media Collective 541-552-8764

Local Spokespeople: Town Councillor Cedar Grey
541-846-9710
Rebecca Briggs (Herb Pharm) 541-846-0364
Don and Kimberly Tipping (Seven Seeds Farm 541-846-9233

Organic farmers in Williams, Oregon are organizing to stop Boise
Cascade Corporation's planned clearcutting and herbicide application
of 235 acres of old-growth forest in their watershed. The project
threatens the area's largest industry. Of 16 organic farms certified
by Oregon Tilth in Josephine County, seven are located in Williams.
The state also certifies other Williams's farms.

On Wednesday morning, June 6, the community experienced a small
victory when the Josephine County Commissioners refused to accept
$15,000 from BCC for added sheriff's presence in the area. About 40
farmers and regional supporters including representatives from Herb
Pharm and Seven Seeds Farm attended to show opposition to the
contract. Speakers questioned the ethics of entering into a law
enforcement contract with a corporation notorious for violating
environmental and labor laws.

The decision is unprecedented in a county that routinely agrees to
such contracts. The commissioners said that since strong opposition
exists within the community, the county would use public dollars
instead of corporate dollars to pay for law enforcement.

Don Tipping of Seven Seeds Farm, which is adjacent to the BCC
property, feels the project threatens his livelihood. "Our irrigation
and drinking water supply would be threatened by logging activities.
It would basically rule out the ability for us to be organic farmers
if our water has chemicals," Tipping said.

Herb Pharm, an organic supplier of medicinal herbs is also concerned
about the project's impact. With 75 workers, the company is the
largest employer in Williams. Herb Pharm's product "Super Echinacea"
is the best selling Echinacea extract on the market.

Herb Pharm owner, Ed Smith said there is a strong possibility that a
clear-cut in the Williams watershed would cause erosion and degrade
the quality of the water used to irrigate crops. Herbicides pose
another threat. "When they do replanting," Smith said, "they often use
herbicide that can work itself into the water supply or onto the
plants themselves." BCC is allowed to apply herbicides within 60 feet
of waterways.

Organic certifiers report that only ten percent of aerial sprays land
on the intended species. while the rest becomes drift. They normally
inspect organic farms about twice a year. However, random inspections
could occur at any time.

The fate of wild forest plants is under threat as well. "We grow a lot
of herbs," said Smith, "but we also harvest a lot of understory herbs
from the forest. That provides jobs and income for the area.
Clearcutting destroys the habitat for those herbs, and drift from
spray could kill them. What some people call weeds, we call a
harvestable crop."

Herb Pharm collects numerous wild herbs from the neighboring forest
including yarrow flowers, Oregon grape root, pipsissewa and St. John's
Wort.

In May, the Williams Town Council voted in favor of appraising BCC's
property and negotiating a land purchase. The corporation refused to
come to the meeting. Williams citizens are preparing an offer and feel
that BCC will be willing to come to the bargaining table soon.

BCC and their subcontractor Estremado Logging have not returned to
work on the project since anonymous forest defenders removed culverts
on the road accessing BCC's Clapboard Gulch parcel. Members of the
Williams community continue to monitor traffic in the area and
organize peaceful rallies and letter writing campaigns. Volunteers and
financial contributions are needed to help in their efforts. Checks
should be made payable to the Williams Forest Fund and mailed to P.O.
Box 484, Williams OR 97544/vm: 541-471-3984. For more information
contact the Media Collective at mediacollective@students.sou.edu or
call 541-552-8764.

Local Spokespeople: Town Councilor Cedar Grey
541-846-9710
Rebecca Briggs (Herb Pharm) 541-846-0364
Don and Kimberly Tipping 541-846-9233

------------ OP/ED

WILLIAMS VALLEY NEIGHBORS STRIVE TO MAINTAIN
HARMONIOUS INTERCONNECTEDNESS

WILLIAMS' ORGANIC LIVELIHOOD AT STAKE, WHILE
NTERNATIONAL LUMBER GIANT AND WILLIAMS LANDHOLDER,
BOISE CASCADE CORPORATION, THREATENS TO
UPSET THE NATURAL INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF A VALLEY
"DONE GOOD"

Ed Smith and Sara Katz are the founders and owners of Herb Pharm,
certified organic growers and manufacturer's of the nation's leading
medicinal herbal extracts (if you're into natural health care you've
probably taken Super Echinacea). The two moved to the Williams Valley
in Josephine county twenty three years ago, because the little
cul-de-sac town and surrounding Siskiyou mountain forests, was THE
place to take root if wanting to live a quiet, simple life in harmony
with nature.

It's taken years of hard work to establish the healthy soil, water
system and integral roots that make a successful farm and company, but
Ed and Sara, with burgeoning family of 75 Herb Pharmers, have grown
into the largest employer of their still sleepy little town. Their
85-acre, certified organic, medicinal herb farm is internationally
recognized as a United Plant Savers Botanical Plant Sanctuary. The
nestled acreage provides over 100 species of medicinal herbs grown for
Herb Pharm's extract making, and is home to 500 different species of
botanicals on display in a world class education garden. The Pharm
farm is also the spring to summer home of over 12 organic agriculture
students enrolled in Herb Pharm's Herbaculture apprentice program.

Indeed, these healthy, and now wealthy, 70's Hippies have done well.
Ed and Sara agree, they could not have gotten where they are today
without help from their community. The ecological awareness and
support of other local growers and likeminded Williams citizens has
been key to maintaining the pristine air and water quality of the
valley. The protection of the diverse Siskiyou forest corridor with
it's migrating animals traversing and spreading seed has also been
vital. It is this interconnectedness that brought the harmony seekers
here to begin with.

Ah, but wait, harmony with nature can not last forever, at least that
is what one Sugarloaf Mountain neighbor is telling Ed and Sara, and
the other organic farmers and two thousand plus citizens of Williams.
That neighbor is fellow landowner, and out of state paper manufacturer
and lumber giant, Boise Cascade Corporation. BCC is also a harvester,
but not of sustainable agriculture, rather old growth hard woods,
including ancient Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, sugar pine and madrone
trees, which up on the Clapboard Gulch ridge are up to 6 to 7 feet in
diameter.

BCC is legally allowed to cut the planned 1,757 Million Board Feet on
it's 235 acres in the Williams Creek Watershed, a parcel located on
the North slope of Sugarloaf Mountain. This is an area within the
100,000-acre Kangaroo Roadless Area and home to endangered species
such as the pacific fisher, American marten, northern spotted owl, red
tree vole, Port Orford Cedar, and other rare plants and animals. The
destruction of this Siskiyou mountain corridor, which links the
Coastal and Cascade ranges, is loss of the very land bridge that makes
the mountain forests so rich with varying wildlife. Residents like Ed
and Sara feel that supporting practices such as BCC's is counter to
the culture that exist in the area today. The times have changed,
Williams is moving forward economically and ecologically, and this
needs to be made clear to county and state officials.

Habitat loss and erosion in southern Oregon has already caused a risk
to the migrating mountain lion, and such at risk wild medicinal herbs
as Lomatium and Trillium. The Williams Creek watershed is especially
at risk, where Chinook, Coho and steelhead population's spawn, and
where Port Orford Cedars have remarkably remained healthy, while other
Pacific Northwest Port Orford cedars have suffered extensively from
exotic root rot fungus.

Of most concern to the Williams citizens and organic growers, and one
of Boise Cascade Corporation's least harmonious neighborhood practices
would be to spray herbicides over their clear-cuts to prevent profuse
growth of unwanted species. This will cause chemical drifting onto
organic farms and into the area watersheds, and the loss of organic
growing certifications, as well as livelihoods.

When the Williams neighbors say goodbye to Boise Cascade Corporation
it won't be without reminders of their seasons of destruction. Please
help the organic farmers and fellow likeminded Williams citizens
protect the interconnectedness of hundreds of species and citizens.
Williams would like to peacefully ask BCC to respect the ecological,
and economical success of the community as it stands, and to please
leave our forward facing culture as it is, and to rethink their
connection and relations with their neighbors and nature.

By Rebecca Briggs, Williams resident (541-846-0364)

What to Do: Write letters to Rick Dryer, OR Dept. of Forestry;
Governor Kitzhaber, Josephine County Commissioners and local and
national media. Share these ecominded activities and political and environmental
events with your children. Concerned citizens can make a difference. Get active,
participate in your democracy.

Support Williams community with land appraisal funds for possible
buy-out of BCC land, and look for and attend fundraising events and
community dances in Williams and Ashland.

Williams Forest Fund: PO Box 484 Williams, OR 97544
Williams Watershed Preservation Coalition/vmail: 541-471-3984

Support Organic agriculture and local and national wildlife
organizations such as Klamanth-Siskiyou Wild Lands Center, Rainforest
Action Network, World Wildlife Fund and American Land Alliance. These
organizations have greatly supported the efforts of the Williams'
citizens to protect their forests and watershed. Thank you!

Photos avail on request: Shot of Herb Pharm's certified organic
Echinacea fields with view of Siskiyou Mts. in background. Photo by Ed
Smith.

Photo of marked to cut, giant old growth sugar pine, with Seven Seeds
Farm organic grower, Don Tipping looking on. Don's farm is adjacent to
the BCC owned land in the Rock Creek area of Williams. Rock Creek
drainage, is on north slope of Sugarloaf, and is proposed 120-acre
clear-cut adjacent to 100,000 acre Kangaroo Roadless Area. Photo by
Marsea Frace

-- Pat Rasmussen Leavenworth Audubon Adopt-a-Forest PO Box 154
Peshastin, WA 98847 Phone: 509-548-7640 patr@crcwnet.com
www.leavenworth-leaf.com