More than 1,000 miners, loggers and ranchers rallied
in Boise Jan. 18 to save “endangered people.” Partly organized by
Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, supporters of the rally said
environmental controls were socialistic and may snuff out
traditional extraction-based industries. “When you deny the cutting
of a tree, you’ve denied somebody a job,” Craig told the Idaho
Statesman. Posters and bumper stickers at the rally included
“Clinton-free zone” and “Save the spotted cow.” Melinda Harm, a
lobbyist for the Idaho Conservation League, says the rally really
served as part of Craig’s re-election campaign. Instead of
suggesting solutions, she says, Craig wants to use
environmentalists as scapegoats to distract people from real
problems and real solutions. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt
complained about the divisive nature of the gathering, saying,
“This is not the time for rallies and divisions and slogans; this
is the time for sitting down together, recognizing that we share
many of the same goals.” Wise-use activists are planning another
rally, this time against grizzly bear recovery.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Saving spotted cows.
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