🚀 go-pugleaf

Yes, it's true!  Measure 18 passed here in Oregon last week by 
a slim margin of 34,000 votes!  This measure bans bear baiting and
hound hunting of bears and cougars.  It was almost a year in the making
but now it's finally a reality (unless of course the legislature
attempts to overturn it). I think it would not have come together
but for the heroic efforts of Katherine Bragdon (Oregon Bear and 
Cougar Coalition), Wayne Pacelle (US Humane Society), and the
numerous volunteers across the state. The bears and cougars were
dancing in the moonlight on Friday...

Unfortunately,  Measure 14 failed 60% to 40%, thereby allowing 
one of North America's largest mining corporations to continue
with their egregious plans for a cyanide heap leach mine in southeastern
Oregon.  Chemical process mining has caused incredible destruction
to ecosystems in Montana, Nevada, and Colorado, and, if these plans
continue, it will come here to Oregon.  Newmont Mining Corporation
effectively swayed the minds of voters the old fashioned American 
way, with money.  They spent over $4 million to buy endorsements from
newspapers, local political endorsements, gubernatorial candidates, 
3 mass mailings to voters, and inumerable TV ads.  Case in point, the 
winning candidate for governor, John Kitzhaber, had as a member of
his campaign steering committee, a person named Len Bergstein.  Len
Bergstein runs Northwest Strategies, a public relations firm,
which received tens of thousands of dollars from Newmont Mining
Corporation as payment for their media direction of the "NO on 14"
campaign.  We  plan to file again for '96, but it appears this
time we'll have to raise a couple hundred thousand dollars to combat
the mindless TV ads of the mining corporation.

Thanks for your interest and support!

Peace

Al

For those of you who did not catch the first mailing, below is a 
brief description of the Measures:

Measure 18 would ban bear baiting and hound hunting of cougars
and bears.  Bear baiting is the act of placing rotten food or meat
in an area to attract bears so that they may be shot from
point blank range. For hound hunting of cougars, the hounds
wear radio transmitters around their necks so they can be
tracked as they chase the cougar.  When the hounds have treed the
cougar they raise their heads, and this sends out a signal to the
hunter in his vehicle.  Then the hunter can drive to the site,
get out of his vehicle, and shoot the cougar at point blank range.
Not very sporting.  Both these animals are solely hunted for trophies.
In addition,  the Far Eastern black markets encourage the killing of
black bears for their gall bladders, which they use as an
aphrodisiac.  Except for wildlife management, these practices
would be banned in Oregon if Measure 18 passes.

Measure 14 is a chemical process mining law reform measure.
Specifically, it is designed to protect Oregon from the
outrageous destruction by cyanide heap leach mining that
Nevada, Montana, and Colorado have experienced.  The
companies can still get the federal land under the archaic
1872 General Mining Law, but they have to obey Oregon's
mining regulations.  The measure requires the mining
corporations to backfill the pits with detoxified material,
restore original contours to the land, and revegetate with
native flora.  In addition, the companies would have to
pay a 2% royalty on the gross profits which would provide
funds for habitat restoration, and for mitigation of the
social effects of boom-bust mining (unemployment, etc.)  The
companies would be required to post a bond that would
cover perpetual monitoring and cleanup of the site.
With the Congressional failure to refrom the 1872 General
Mining Law, this measure serves even greater importance
as a reminder to Congress that its citizens are fed up
with the mining abuses all over this country.
There is a multinational mining corporation, Newmont Mining
Corporation, that has plans for a large scale cyanide-leach
mine in south eastern Oregon.

-- 
Al Thieme
EMAIL: alfred_thieme@mentorg.com