REMARKS OF JIM HURST
2002 FRA NATIONAL FORESTRY ACTIVIST

delivered at FRA's Annual Awards Dinner
Charlotte, North Carolina
April 15, 2002

This is our first trip to North Carolina, and my wife and I are certainly impressed, not only with the scenery but the Southern hospitality. In fact, Gone With the Wind is Carol's all-time favorite epic movie, so being in the South is like coming home to her.

When we were first married she encouraged me to grow a moustache. Unfortunately, my hair started receding about as rapidly as a feller buncher in a clearcut, so any dreams she had of being married to Rhett Butler were dashed in short order.

Enough of that. We are truly honored to be here and thank you again for affording us this opportunity.

I'm humbled, grateful, and pleased to be the recipient of this year's award. I accept it on behalf of the people who have supported our industry, our communities, and me. They have given unselfishly of their time and spirit. During the Shovels of Solidarity movement (S.O.S.) they networked, did leg work or sent a shovel. They were activists in their own right; they did what they were capable of doing to right a wrong.

The magnitude of the event exceeded all expectations thanks to the thousands of grassroots activists, many that became motivated to do something for the first time. They thought they were merely donating a shovel, when in reality they were making a resounding statement. They chose to bear arms in defense of their eroding lifestyles. Their weapons were shovels, to be used as they were intended, to move dirt. Some of the dirt fell on our own government and rightly so. The shovels also dug deep enough to expose an obstructionist environmental community bent on destroying the virtues of rural America. Their true agenda was uncovered.

It is phenomenal the number of times our adversaries have spoken of those earth-moving implements in vain. Nearly two and a half years after they were delivered, a top aide to a U.S. Senator summed up an emotional community rally promoting salvage logging in a burned forest as being akin to that "shovel charade."

This statement is a compliment to all who were involved or feel disenfranchised from their roots, as it illustrates the concerns many in Washington have concerning the power of the grassroots movement within the natural resource community. Rural Americans are a group that can't easily be schmoozed or bought off, and that generates fear in DC, as evidenced by the last general election where President Bush carried 2,434 primarily rural counties and won, and Al Gore carried 677 counties and lost. Incidentally, Montana's Lieutenant Governor Judy Martz was the first high-ranking government official to publicly and proudly sign a shovel -- she is now Governor.

I've used this shovel experience merely as an example of what can happen when we finally decide we've had enough and make a commitment to effect change.

For too many years, we've been beaten, bludgeoned and belittled for the shameful practice of severing a tree from its stump so four more may take its place. We've been portrayed as villains by a misinformed public and an uncaring and selfish environmental community. In many cases we've been ignored by our elected officials, but there is a strong scent of change in the air.

All of a sudden Ford Motor Company thinks we're special. There's lynx hair in the air, lynx hair everywhere! Here's an interesting discovery: scientist have concluded that the biggest cause of global warming in New Zealand is not the burning of coal or oil but the discharges of flatulent cows and sheep. However, that isn't the scent of change I was referring to. But it does make one curious about the effects of global warming over the District of Columbia. That tiny piece of real estate omits more hot air and obnoxious gasses than any place on the planet. I refer to it as one giant whoopee cushion.

Speaking of DC, I understand the Endangered Species Act has interfered with a bridge project and that the city is polluting the Potomac. Officials are aghast that they must comply with the same regulations we do every single day.

A panel of scientist have found no scientific basis for prohibiting irrigation in the Klamath Basin and nothing to substantiate harm to the endangered suckerfish. Our opponent's half-truths, coy statements, and bald-faced lies are being exposed as never before.

Change in the air? You bet there is, and it's based on facts. Indisputable evidence is finally being recognized for what it is, the truth. Are we winning? That's for you to decide, but if we aren't why is Fox News, noted for fair and balanced reporting, gaining viewership? Why is there an explosion in the popularity of conservative talk radio? Why has the Sierra Club suddenly launched a campaign on television advertising for new members? Why has William Clay Ford severely restricted his philanthropy to environmental groups? Why would environmentalist and phony human rights advocates choose to demonize a hick from the sticks of NW Montana who merely advocates that it is a basic human right to be able to feed and clothe a family?

Finally, why would Gloria Flora, the former forest supervisor of the Humbolt Toyaible National Forest, a crusader for non-development of our natural resources, and the central figure in the road closure debacle in Jarbidge Nevada, recently write an opinion piece in a Montana newspaper discussing the critical importance of good forest management. She ends her piece by stating, "Without thriving revitalized forests, Montana's mountain communities will wither and blow away." She continues, "it is also true, that without healthy, sustainable human communities, our forests will not survive." I've heard that somewhere before.

Gloria Flora is now Executive Director of Sustainable, Obtainable, Solutions: S.O.S. There are reasons for this shift in direction by Gloria, Ford Motor, and others. It's because our foes are losing the credibility battle, thanks to people like you and Don Dadisman of South Carolina, Bob Moore from Florida, Jim Robbins of Maine, and Susan Swanson from Pennsylvania, unselfish folks who show up, individuals who genuinely care about their employees, co-workers, and neighbors.

It's because people like you have changed the debate from cutting a tree to sustaining a community. It spells out the fact that we, the often times forgotten people, underdogs if you will, are sick and tired of others who have a small stake in our investment, dictating what's best for us when they either don't know or choose to ignore the truth.

In closing, I will leave you with this final thought. In our struggle to maintain and enhance our way of life, we must always remember that common sense is our trademark, compassion for our neighbor is our tradition, and the truth is our ally.

If we do, we will be successful.

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