Oregon Public Broadcasting

The debate over a proposed federal logging plan has arrived at the Oregon state capitol.  One protester is logging her discontent by camping out in a tree on the capitol grounds.  Salem correspondent Chris Lehman reports.

The Western Oregon Plan Revision, WOPR, is a Bush administration proposal to increase the amount of logging on federal forest lands.

Jasmine Zimmer-Stucky peers out from her platform in a pine tree on the grounds of the Oregon capitol.

It would affect parts of 18 counties in western Oregon.

Environmental groups oppose it, saying it includes the clear-cutting of old growth forests.  

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski is considering how to respond to the plan.

Like a lot of activists, Jasmine Zimmer-Stucky came to the Capitol with a message for the Governor.

Jasmine Zimmer-Stucky:  “We are asking him to reject the Western Oregon Plan Revision in favor of a more sustainable forest economy.”

But unlike most activists, Zimmer-Stucky is delivering her message from a platform halfway up a stately pine tree on the well-groomed grounds of the state capitol. 

The University of Oregon senior has been camped out there since Tuesday morning.  She says she’ll come down in time for a noon rally on Friday.

Online:

Information about the Western Oregon Plan RevisionVideo of the tree-sitting protest at the Oregon Capitol