In Moscow, Idaho, you can tell it’s fall when
Cove/Mallard timbersale protesters start showing up for trial. In
the last four years more than 100 people have argued their cases
before a variety of magistrates and federal judges, and nearly all
have lost. This year was no exception.
The
largest trial this year involved 12 protesters accused of violating
a Forest Service order closing access to a roadbuilding project in
the controversial timber sale. Protesters’ lawyers argued that when
the agency denied permission to enter the area to anyone associated
with “environmentalism,” it engaged in discriminatory behavior. The
lawyers had proof: In a letter to the Missoula-based Alliance for
the Wild Rockies, Forest Service District Ranger Ed Wood said
permission to enter the closed area would not be granted to any
“self-styled environmentalist.”
Wood said in
court that although his words were “inappropriate,” he stood by his
decision. The area was closed, he added, to protect the safety of
protesters. U.S. Magistrate Michael Williams apparently agreed,
since he convicted all 12 protesters and issued sentences ranging
from seven to 20 days in jail, as well as $500 fines for each. –
Erik Ryberg
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Logging opponents lose – again.
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