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Guest Forum:
Creating a climate of fear
By Michael Goldman
Living in fear is not living at all! Those people who, in the name of environmentalism, have created fear in our community about the possibilities of some impending doom, or erosion, or water quality, are lost in their own sense of the battleground. They have fought growth for so long that they don't know productive, sound, ecological growth when they see it. They have spent so much time fighting the Mt. Ashland expansion plans over the last several years, they don't see the value in anything positive that the expansion has to offer to our community. All they see is enemy. Mt. Ashland is a valuable, generous, life-building recreational facility, it is not the enemy. Creating fear among our citizens using misleading and erroneous information about the expansion of Mt. Ashland is wrong, and doing so in the name of environmentalism, is even worse. Taking the hard fought issues that environmentalists have waged, like corporate clear-cutting, and invoking the name of environmentalism with regards to the expansion of Mt. Ashland, is degrading the good work that true environmentalism has accomplished over the years. The experts have spoken with regards to the expansion, and they have concluded that the expansion shall have no impact on the issues of erosion, water quality, plant life, or indigenous animal habitat. Real environmentalists should concentrate on real dangers to the environment, of which there are plenty to choose. But those local persons who continue to rant and rave over the expansion issue are only serving to create fear of some unauthenticated possibilities, and living in fear is not living at all. I would ask anyone who is truly interested in this issue, to read the Forest Service EIS report, and to call the Ashland Department of Water, to see for yourself that the facts of this case DO NOT WARRANT the rant and ravings of the few who would try to create environmental fear in our community. Mt. Ashland has been operating an environmentally sound ski area for many years and they have been very worthy stewards of the beautiful land upon which the ski area exists. Now they are in need of our support. They need to expand their services to meet the growing demands of our appreciative community. Just as many other of our community services have recently expanded like the YMCA, Shakespeare Festival, Fire Department, library, baseball and soccer fields, and soon a new golf course in Ashland. Mt. Ashland is an asset to our community, one that deserves our support. No tax dollars are being asked to expand, no new permits are being asked to approve, no new boundaries are being asked to enlarge. The expansion is sound, it is ecological, it is consistent with the economic needs of small community ski areas. It is actually a needed component of the ski area in order to avoid future economic troubles by staying competitive with Mt. Shasta, where many Oregon skiers must ski in order to find moderate terrain and chairlifts that are wind protected during winter storms. Mt. Ashland is a great asset to our community, we are very lucky to have it, and if they are in need of our support, I ask you to lend your voice in this debate to show our community that we appreciate and trust their expert judgment. Please do not let the misleading efforts of the fear raisers be your voice. Especially in the name of environmentalism. Living in fear is not living at all!
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