Students Oppose Logging in Robinson Forest
by: Andy Mead
Article and picture from from Lexington Herald Leader
They sat in at the president's office, but the president wasn't there.
Fifteen people, mostly students, sat on the floor and in chairs in the reception area of University of Kentucky President Lee T. Todd Jr.'s office for more than two hours yesterday, saying they wanted to ask questions about a controversial plan to log part of Robinson Forest.
Douglas Boyd, his chief of staff, said Todd was on his way to the airport when the students arrived. He later said Todd was on a flight to a conference, adding that the questions had been sent to the president's Blackberry.
The questions included why the research project would use commercial loggers, and what happened to the $37 million generated from mining and logging outlying areas of the Eastern Kentucky forest several years ago.
Garrett Graddy, a geography graduate student who is spokesman for the group, said the group would wait until they got their answers.
They eventually left after calling and leaving voice mail messages with several members of the university's board of trustees, but without hearing from Todd.
Graddy said the group had been told that construction of logging roads already had begun in the 10,000-acre main block of the Eastern Kentucky forest. The group asked for a moratorium on any logging-related activity until they are allowed to meet with Todd and the trustees.
University spokesman Jay Blanton later said he was unaware of any work on logging roads, adding that work on existing roads in the forest is a regular occurrence.
At next Tuesday's board meeting, chairwoman Mira Ball plans to discuss a late October trip that some trustees took to the forest, Blanton said. The group that protested yesterday is hoping to talk with the board at that meeting.
Scientists in the UK Department of Forestry say they want to log most trees on up to 1,000 acres of the forest to research ways to better protect streams from logging. The UK Board approved the plan in 2004, but it has recently been the subject of protests.
Graddy also gave Boyd a letter from other scientists who are opposed to the project.
One Lexington television station followed the protesters into Todd's office, then left after a few minutes. The students sat around, talking about mountaintop mining, water quality and other environmental issues.
About 45 minutes into the sit-in, another Lexington TV station arrived, and the students started chanting: "Save Robinson Forest! Save Robinson Forest!" After seven minutes of chanting, Linda Machan, the office secretary, asked them to be quiet so she could hear people who called on the telephone. They stopped chanting.
As they left, members of the group picked up scrap paper and even crumbs from the floor. They left a few "Save Robinson Forest" bumper stickers.
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