Showdown At Opal Creek: The Battle For America's Last Wilderness

Showdown at Opal Creek: The Battle for America's Last Wilderness

From Library JournalTime reporter Seideman dramatizes the unresolved conflict between environmental activists and the forest-industry workers in the Pacific Northwest by describing the face-off between two former friends. Both grew up in the vicinity of Opal Creek, a scenic remnant of old-growth forest in Oregon's Cascades Mountains. George Atiyeh, a former logger and now an environmentalist, defends the area against the angry clamor of Tom Hirons, his logger friend, and most of the timber-town inhabitants who see an industry and a way of life disappearing. Seideman intersperses the history of the area, the fate of American forests, the legislative battles, and other matters of historic fact with the dramatic confrontations in a rather confusing way, lessening the book's impact. A better book on this topic is William Dietrich's The Final Forest ( LJ 5/1/92 ). Recommended as an optional supplement to collections on environmental issues.- Eleanor Maass, Maass Assocs., New Milford, Pa.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.An account of the conflict over whether to preserve or cut down forests in Oregon's Cascade MountainsFrom Publishers WeeklyOpal Creek, in the Willamette National Forest, comprises 6800 acres of virgin forest, the largest stand remaining in western Oregon. Since 1970, 38% of the state's old-growth forests has been logged while 25,000 woodworkers have lost jobs due to automation. Rich in wildlife and home to the spotted owl, Opal Creek is central to the land use controversy pitting economic interests against the environment. Time reporter David Seideman ( The New Republic ) explores this conflict in the richly detailed stories of two men on opposite sides. George Atiyeh has been fighting to save the forest for 20 years; Tom Hirons is a logger whose livelihood in nearby Mill City is threatened. Both have presented their views on national television. Seideman offers a balanced account of their conflict, noting that in the Northwest, the logger is a cultural icon comparable to the cowboy. He examines the politics and policies surrounding the timber industry, and points a finger of blame directly at Congress (the Forest Service receives criticism, too). Atiyeh and Hirons ultimately reach a compromise, but the fate of Opal Creek remains uncertain. Photos not seen by PW.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.From Kirkus ReviewsA moving account of personalities and politics in the on-going battle over logging the last areas of old-growth forest in the heart of Oregon's Cascade Range, from Time reporter Seideman (The New Republic, 1986--not reviewed). Concentrating on two primary players in the dispute surrounding the ancient forest at Opal Creek, Seideman's narrative- -as the story unfolds in the late 1980's--quickly allows the individual acrimony and psychological effects of the controversy to surface. To George Atiyeh--a logger-turned-environmentalist from a prominent Oregon family--Opal Creek is a church, and his willingness to use every means necessary to protect it from cutting--including media manipulation, state and federal legislation, and endless legal maneuvers against the US Forest Service--made him a contemptible turncoat in the eyes of his hometown community of Mill City. To Tom Hirons--an independent timber-company owner--dwindling logging prospects and the struggle to gain access to Opal Creek meant teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, but at the same time being pushed into the limelight as an articulate spokesman for the plight of loggers like himself. Atiyeh and Hirons had been best friends and business partners, and the animosity accompanying their falling-out made any negotiations thorny. With national media exposure, their positions stiffened further, but efforts to compromise stayed alive in part because they couldn't completely forget their friendship. The two are now reconciled to a degree, although the final chapter on Opal Creek remains to be wr