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July
15, 2003
Uri
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They Tell Lies to Nodders
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July
7, 2003
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Blum
The Anti-Empire Report
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Heavy Reckoning at Qaim
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Thomas
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Weapons in Search of a Name
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June
30, 2003
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The Roadmap and the Wall
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June
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The Anarchists' Wedding Guide
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Vest
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July
15, 2003
A Response to David
Orr
No
Conspiracy at Coffeen Nature Preserve
By BECKY GILLETTE
I am writing to express dismay at the article
posted to your web site, "Coffeen-gate,
What is going on at Sierra Foundation?" by David Orr.
Orr's Coffeen missive is peppered through with phrases like "there
is a high likelihood", "insider's who are knowledgeable
about this situation" and "unconfirmed reports".
The whole piece reads like the National Enquirer or The Star,
but is far less entertaining and without even that level of journalistic
integrity. Orr's allegations of dark, shadowy conspiracies may
help him and the readers of Counterpunch feel they are involved
in some shocking scandal, but don't apply any healthy skepticism
to uninformed assertions or you will puncture the illusion of
conspiracy.
This article does not accurately reflect
what is going on with Coffeen or the Sierra Club Foundation.
For example, Orr wrote: "There have been few verifiable
facts released that would confirm the level of assurance or control
afforded the Club or the Foundation on future management of the
preserve. The Foundation has refused requests from Florida Chapter
leaders about the specific terms of the proposed transfer and
about the purpose, structure, and goals of the land trust, or
any plans for future development or any restrictive covenants
that may be attached to the deed."
Untrue. Three weeks ago three Florida
Chapter representatives along with other Sierra Club representatives
from throughout the Southeast met in Anniston, Ala., for a Gulf
Coast Regional Conservation Committee (GCRCC) meeting designed
to organize against the U.S. Army's plans to poison an already-ill
population by incinerating chemical weapons. Our rally on this
made national news on NBC. At our regular GCRCC business meeting
Sunday June 22 we had a 90-minute presentation about the details
of this proposed Coffeen land trust that included "the purpose,
structure, and goals of the land trust."
We heard from former Foundation Trustee
Carolyn Carr who personally knew the donor who willed this property
to Sierra Club and discussed her intentions while she was alive.
Carr gave a detailed history of the property. At the end of this
long discussion, about 16 members of the GCRCC voted unanimously
to reaffirm an earlier vote delegating authority to two of our
representatives to interact with the Sierra Club Foundation to
assure the best possible future for Coffeen.
Another error from Orr's piece: "A
majority of the members of the Board of the new land trust are
reportedly owners of a number of adjacent residential properties
known as the Four Mile Village."
Everyone involved in this issue has been
told repeatedly that this is not true. The truth is that the
proposed land trust would include three representatives of Sierra
Club, three independent experts not related to the property owners,
and three property owners. However, no specific proposal has
been accepted.
Orr wrote: "About five years ago
the GCRCC, without explanation, asserted itself as the official
Club arbiter on issues surrounding disposition of the preserve
and on related matters of Club policy. No information has yet
been offered to indicate why or when or who among the "powers
that be" in upper Club management decided to bypass the
chapter and hand over all Club decision-making authority to the
GCRCC."
The fact is that GCRCC was asked to take
over from the small Northwest Florida Group to help the Foundation
with on-the-ground management of Coffeen in order to provide
more regional support for Coffeen, and to have management including
representatives from throughout the Southeast. The idea was to
broaden the support for Coffeen, and provide more accountability.
Previously one volunteer had been chair of the management committee
for 20 years, and that volunteer appointed members of the management
committee. We felt the management structure needed more diversity.
The GCRCC has been involved with Coffeen
since 1978 and has supports conservation of the land in perpetuity.
Everyone working on this desires the outcome that protects the
resource.
It is not Sierra Club's intention to
be a manager of nature preserves. We are not The Nature Conservancy.
Environmental activism is our core mission. Coffeen was an incredible
gift, but it didn't come along with a large enough endowment
to pay for proper care. The problem has gotten worse through
the years. That is why divestiture to a land trust is being considered.
In doing so, the Foundation will do everything necessary to make
sure that Coffeen is preserved as was intended.
The major purpose of the Sierra Club
Foundation is to support the charitable programs of Sierra Club.
So if the Foundation has to spend time and money on Coffeen,
that draws away from its mission of raising money for the club
to work on environmental justice, forest protection and other
issues near and dear to us. I could rebut a number of more wrong
assumptions in Orr's piece regarding the complex issues of management
of this 200-acre nature preserve. After all, I have actually
been there on numerous occasions. Orr has never visited it. But
I don't see any real reason why readers of Counterpunch would
be interested in more of the details.
Coffeen is in good hands. I wish I could
say the same for the minority community in Anniston, Alabama,
that has already been poisoned by PCBs from Monsanto, and has
been named the most toxic town in America. If you really want
to get involved in Sierra Club business, how about running something
on the chemical weapons of mass destruction the U.S. Army plans
on burning in Anniston starting later this month? Sierra activists
from throughout the region plan to join local activists for another
rally there later this month.
Becky Gillette
is conservation chair of the Mississippi Chapter of Sierra Club,
and secretary of the GCRCC. She is a free-lance writer based
in Ocean Springs, Miss., who has published in about 50 magazines
and newspapers nationwide. In 2002 she received the National
Conservation Achievement Award for communications from the National
Wildlife Federation. She can be reached at: bgillette@bellsouth.net
Weekend Edition Features for July 12/13, 2003
Arthur
Mitzman
The Double Wall Before the Future
Standard
Schaefer
The Coming Financial Reality: an
Interview with Michael Hudson
John Feffer
A Fearful Symmetry: Washington and Pyongyang
Ron
Jacobs
Shades of Gray in Iran
Elaine
Cassel
Judicial Terrorism Against the Bill of Rights
Tom
Stephens
Civil Liberties After 9/11
David Lindorff
New White House Slogan: "Case Closed. Just Move On"
Jason
Leopold
The Mini-War Against Iraq Prior to 9/11
Lee Sustar
What's Behind the Crisis in Liberia?
Mickey
Z.
AIDS Dissent and Africa
Sam Hamod
Semitic is a Language Group, Not a Race or Ethnic Group
Ramzy
Baroud
Awaiting Justice on an Old Blanket
Jeffrey
St. Clair
Savage Incongruities: the Photographic Life of Lee Miller
Adam
Engel
Parable of the Lobbyist
Robert
Sanders
A Review of Ralph Lopez's American Dream
Poets'
Basement
Albert, Witherup, Guthrie
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