As one illustration of this bias - out of the 24 direct quotes cited in the study, every single one was from timber workers or their family members. The few environmentalist opinions are merely paraphrased. Other examples are more subtle, such as the use of the word "many loggers repeated stories about Earth Firsters! suddenly springing out of the woods --armed...(see full text in Fortmann's rebuttal).-- and attacking loggers on a landing" vs. "some environmentalists feel equally threatened." Ignoring easily documentable cases of actual violence against environmentalists, she relies on unsubstantiated feelings of what she characterizes as many loggers. To the best of my knowledge, threats of violence came entirely from the logging community side. One would never guess this from Dr. Fortmann's report.
Bias in research is one thing. Releasing a biased report as scientifically valid just before an election is quite another. Our criticism derives from the fact that our own experience of these issues is very different from what is stated in her report. It is difficult for us to accept the unsubstantiated feelings of timber workers as being scientifically valid. To us, it seems more like gossip. More importantly, Dr. Fortman's report seems to be entirely motivated by its political, NOT its scientific, impact.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2004
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