Bush's claim that he has protected old growth forests through the Healthy Forests Restoration Act is simply not true. One of the flaws of the Oregonian's Q & A approach is that actual policy issues were not analyzed and Bush was allowed to just repeat misleading information, unquestioned.

While the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) had some language protecting some of the largest trees in projects administered under the Act, it is simply wrong and misleading to claim that old growth is now protected because of the HFRA. Old growth logging under the Northwest Forest Plan is not part of the HFRA, and rollbacks of the Northwest Forest Plan as well as other Bush forest policy rollbacks have in fact made it much easier to clearcut old growth across the Pacific Northwest

Meanwhile, the Healthy Forests Iniative (not to be confused with HFRA) is an extensive and confusing series of administrative changes of questionable legality that were enacted without Congressional approval. The HFI has opened up old growth trees in backcountry areas to accelerated logging under the 'healthy forests' rubric, including expanded use of 'emergency' logging rules to cut old trees down in controversial timber sales before a judge can hear the legal merits of a case, and the expanded use of 'categorical exclusions' to clearcut up to 250 acres in some cases with no environmental analysis.

Finally, the HFRA itself has been largely unfunded by the Bush administration with most of the HFRA projects in Oregon being planned for backcountry areas far from the nearest community or home, according to a recent report by the US Forest Service.

While old growth logging is moving forward rapidly under HFI and other rollbacks, Bush trumpets the weak old growth protection language in the HFRA as the end-all be-all on old growth logging - which is a complete fabrication. Of course, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), who cosponsored the HFRA, has been completely unhelpful here, trumpeting the same success as Bush in protecting old growth for his own reelection bid, while failing to highlight Bush's numerous attacks on our old growth, roadless areas, and environmental laws. Wyden effectively handed Bush a reelection issue at a critical time for our country, and has been silent when Bush has misled the public on his commitment to protect our environment.

Here is an extended version of a letter I submitted to the Oregonian today in response to Bush's claim to have protected our old growth.

To the editor,

I was outraged to see President Bush’s false claim that he is protecting the last 10 percent of Oregon’s old growth forest (What about the environment?10/28/04). President Bush has systematically accelerated old growth logging and weakened bedrock environmental safeguards for the benefit of his timber industry campaign contributors. This administration has always favored cutting down the last of our old growth trees and logging our roadless wildlands.

Bush never mentions that he tossed out the core rules of the Northwest Forest Plan that protected old growth dependent wildlife, wild salmon and clean water from destructive clearcutting. The Healthy Forests Act has nothing to do with the old growth logging Bush has increased by gutting the Northwest Forest Plan and through other rollbacks, which have accelerated conversion of healthy and diverse old growth forests into flammable tree plantations.

Even under ‘healthy forests,’ old growth trees far from the nearest home or community have been cut down under Bush’s new ‘emergency’ logging rules.

Rather than offering misleading information and half-truths, Senator Kerry’s answer that old growth will be protected and off-limits to logging was clear and straightforward.

Sincerely,

Ivan Maluski Portland, Oregon

On the subject of students being registered as Republicans. In the spectrum of voter fraud stories that I've been reading lately, I'm not sure if this ranks very high. I'd be pissed if I was one of those students and it would certainly sour me on the party if I was undecided. But when it comes down to voting, your party registration doesn't control who you vote for, at least in the general election. I'm not sure how Oregon's primary elections currently work. But for the general election, all those students are free to go vote for Kerry. So no real harm done except that the GOP is forced to pay for registrations that probably do not result in votes for Bush.

I didn't read the link. Were the students actually registered to vote or was this a case of their registration cards being thrown away?