RALLY TO STOP THE WOPR & SAVE OUR FORESTS - July 27

On Sunday, July 27, 12 noon at Portland’s Pioneer Square (701 SW 6th
Ave.) take a stand with the Pitchfork Rebellion – a group of rural
Oregonians sick (literally!) of having their water sources, organic
crops, livestock, and children poisoned by timber industry helicopter
herbicide – for a rally and free concert in celebration of the forests
that give us life.

Pitchfork Rebellion co-founder Day Owen says: “Three years ago my wife
and I co-founded The Pitchfork Rebellion in response to the poisoning
of many of our forest-dwelling neighbors by Timber Industry
helicopters spraying herbicides on the clear-cut mountain tops that
ring our homes. Then, this Fall, my wife and I were poisoned by aerial
spraying near our home and had to get medical attention. Now, this
Spring, our teenage daughter needed medical attention after an early
morning aerial spray across from our home. This rally in Portland is
nothing less than a cry for help! Help us stop the aerial assault on
rural families, and help us stop the WOPR and other unwise forest
practices.”

Speakers include ecological forester Roy Keene; Lauren Regan,
executive director of Civil Liberties Defense Center; Tim Hermach,
executive director and founder of Native Forest Council; Bill Barton,
private forestland owner, and more.

There will also be music by world-renowned reggae/world music
superstar Thomas Mapfumo and his band Blacks Unlimited; Freebo, former
bass-player for Bonnie Raitt, and other special guests.

At the rally Pitchfork Rebellion will call for a ceasefire in the
timber industry’s war on our forests, with collateral damage ranging
from silted and poisoned drinking water, to disappearing salmon runs,
to deadly landslides, to increased emissions from carbon stored in the
trees and soil.

Pitchfork Rebellion’s immediate and non-negotiable demands include:

1. Scrap and Replace the W.O.P.R. with a Plan that would Manage Public
Forests as Old Growth Tree Reserves for Carbon Sequestration to Fight
Global Warming while providing real protection for watersheds and
endangered species.

2. Reinstate harvest tax on private logging on industry clearcuts,
exempting small woodland owners.

3. The immediate establishment of a legal buffer zone that prevents
the aerial spraying of pesticides within one mile of property with a
home or school on it, and an increase in existing buffer zones for
waterways.

4. Remove members from the Board of Forestry with financial conflict
of interest by adopting federal ethics standards.

5. We demand that the clause “maintaining the availability of
pesticides” be removed from the official Mission Statement of the
Oregon Department of Agriculture and its Pesticide Division including
PARC (Pesticide Analytical Response Center).

6. Stop the erosion of our civil liberties.

7. Revoke corporate personhood. Corporations currently have the legal
rights of persons without the legal accountabilities.

Following the rally and concert at 5 pm, Pitchfork Rebellion will
exercise our (disappearing) constitutional rights by leading a
peaceful (and fully permitted) march through downtown Portland to the
BLM offices to protest the WOPR.

Pitchfork Rebellion will also share the findings of its report,
revealing how high-level positions in State and Federal Agencies that
have legal stewardship over our soil, water, air, and national wealth
are staffed by former and current employees of multinational
corporations such as Dow Chemical and Monsanto (i.e. EPA’s Elin
Miller, former Dow chemical executive).

More about Pitchfork Rebellion in Eugene Weekly:
http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2006/03/16/coverstory.html