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Klamath-Siskiyou eNews # 157 December 17 2009
In This Issue:
Please Ask the Forest Service to Stop Logging Karuk Tribe Sacred Sites
FERC Issues Approval of LNG Project Through Oregon, Opponents to Appeal
Pangea Restaurant to Donate 10% of Coupon Holders Jan 2010 Receipts to KS Wild
Please Ask the Forest Service to Stop Logging Karuk Tribe Sacred Sites
The Six Rivers National Forest has broken the public trust by allowing reckless logging in areas considered sacred sites by the Karuk Tribe.
Six Rivers National Forest Supervisor Tryone Kelley spent three years working with the Orleans community, tribal leaders, and local environmental organizations, to develop a fuels reduction plan that everyone could live with.
According to the Environmental Impact Statement, the goal of the Orleans Fuels Reduction Plan, or OCFR, is to manage forest stands to reduce fuels accumulation and improve forest health around the community of Orleans, while enhancing cultural values associated with the Panamnik World Renewal Ceremonial District.
Logging crews are not following the plan, and Six Rivers District Supervisor Tyrone Kelley continues to allow them to work.
Workers have been instructed to use heavy equipment in culturally sensitive areas, remove large diameter trees, and harvest hardwoods that were supposed to be maintained for forest health.
Please click here to sign a letter asking that the District Supervisor to honor the agreements already made and make every effort to protect and preserve Karuk sacred and ceremonial sites.
FERC Issues Approval of LNG Project Through Oregon, Opponents to Appeal
On December 17, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) voted 3-1 to approve the controversial Jordan Cove LNG import terminal and the accompanying Pacific Connector pipeline in southern Oregon. The dissenting opinion was given by Chairman Jon Wellinghoff, stating in part, "I believe that there are reasonable alternatives that would more efficiently, more reliably, and in an environmentally preferable manner meet the projected energy needs of the markets that the Jordan Cove Project is intended to serve. I am also concerned about specific characteristics of the Jordan Cove Project. Therefore, I conclude that the Jordan Cove Project is not in the public interest, and I respectfully dissent from today's order."
Click here to take action now.
Rogue Riverkeeper and KS Wild, along with a coalition of environmental groups and community advocates, will appeal the decision and are being represented by the Western Environmental Center. Governor Ted Kulongoski and Attorney General John Kroger announced that they will also appeal the decision. If the appeals are unsuccessful, project opponents will take concerns to a federal appeals court.
If built, the project would import foreign fossil fuel in the form of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for offloading to be used primarily in California. The project includes an import facility located in Coos Bay, Oregon, as well as a 234-mile pipeline that will deliver up to 1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas derived from LNG to the California border. Project partners include PG&E, Fort Chicago, and Williams Pipeline.
Community and environmental activists point to a number of problems with the project, including: 1) The LNG terminal threatens 17,000 residents of the Coos Bay Area with a catastrophic accident, should there be an LNG leak or terrorist attack on the facility or on tankers; 2) The pipeline construction would destroy habitat for coho salmon, spotted owls and other species; 3) The project threatens water quality in the Coos, Umpqua, Rogue and Klamath watersheds; 4) The pipeline would clearcut hundreds of acres of remaining old-growth forests on public lands; 5) The project would handcuff the West Coast energy grid to fossil fuels coming from politically unstable countries including Russia, the Middle East and elsewhere; 6) The project would displace investment that could support cleaner alternatives such as renewable energy; and 7) Project developers are likely to use eminent domain to seize people's private property for the Pacific Connector pipeline.
TAKE ACTION: In addition to prevailing in the challenges to the FERC order, Jordan Cove and Pacific Connector must receive various state and federal permits before proceeding with the project, including Clean Water Act permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality. Please click here to send a quick comment on the proposed permits. Comments are due December 27.
Pangea Restaurant to Donate 10% of Coupon Holders Jan 2010 Receipts to KS Wild
Ashland's Pangea Restaurant at 272 East Main will be showing their support for the conservation work of KS Wild by running a give-back promotion this January. KS Wild has been selected as one of four non-profit groups that Pangea will donate 10% of coupon-carrying customer's receipts back to on select days (Sundays through Thursdays, after 4pm).
Pangea will be handing out promotional cards to their customers beginning the last week of December.
This is a win/win for Ashland residents: get quality food from a conscious local business AND support your friendly neighborhood conservation organization!
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