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Show THl DAIIY HI RAU), Provo. Llah Friday, October 23, Animal ragBrts group steps up eco-fterroris- - Page i ivfth Vail fire m By STEVEN K. PAULSON Associated Press Writer Responsibility DENVER The burning of a ski lodge and other buildings on Vail The Associated Press Mountain appears to mark a major escalation in going well beyond the and smaller arsons committed by radical environmentalists. On Wednesday night, an underground organization called the Earth Liberation Front claimed responsibility for Monday's attacks in Vail, the most costly act of in America, with damage estimated at at least $12 million. No one has been arrested in the attacks. "This was a surprise because it was so bold," said Ron Arnold, vice president of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, an organization in Bellevue, Wash., that tracks crimes committed to save nature. . "They've stepped over a line they've never crossed before. Now they no longer care what the public thinks. They're also getting more professional. That troubles me a lot." graffiti-spraying- the text of the sent Wednesday to KCFR-FFollowing is tree-spikin- Colorado Public Radio in Denver, in which an underground environmental group claimed responsibility for the Vail Mountain fires. A ; - ; Jem w i On behalf of the lynx, five buildings and four ski lifts at Vail were reduced to ashes on the night of Sunday, October 18th. Vail, Inc. is already the largest ski operation in North America and now wants to expand even further. The 12 miles i ft 4 of roads and 885 acres of clearcuts will ruin the last, best lynx habitat in the state. Putting profits ahead of Colorado's wildlife will not be tolerated. This action is just a warning. We will be back if this greedy corporation continues to trespass into wild and unroaded areas. For your safety and convenience, we strongly advise skiers to choose other destinations until Vail cancels its inexcusable plans for expansion. .1! Expansion Seven fires broke out on Vail Mountain before dawn on Monday, destroying three buildings and damaging four chairlifts. The fire came just days after Vail began clearing trees on an expansion project bitterly opposed by environmentalist groups. Last month, Vail won a major court battle against the groups, which say the expansion would interfere with plans to reintroduce the lynx to the region. In a letter sent to news media outlets, the ELF said it carried out the Vail arson "to stop the destruction of natural habitat and the exploitation of the environment." It said the expansion of the biggest and busiest ski resort in the United States would "ruin the last, best lynx habitat in the state." "Putting profits ahead of Colorado's wildlife will not be tolerated. This action is just a warning. We will be back if this greedy corporation continues to trespass into wild and unroad-eareas," the communique said. The ELF was founded in Britain in 1992 by Earth First! members frustrated with the lack of progress in protecting nature. Last June it claimed responsibility for spraying red paint on the Mexican Consulate in Boston to protest the treatment 'of peasants in Chiapas, Mexico. Since December, the ELF has taken at least partial responsibility for fires at U.S. Agriculture Department buildings in Olympia, Wash.; a fire at an Oregon corral used for wild horses and burros captured by the Bureau of Land Management; and the freeing of 310 animals from a Wisconsin fur farm. Earth Liberation Front (E.LF.) to stop developers. Over the years, environmentalists have also put metal spikes in trees to discourage timber companies from cutting them down. Loggers and mill workers have reported serious injuries from cutting trees containing spikes. Environmental groups say they aren't to blame for the injuries because they warn loggers to avoid the trees. The attacks by environmental radicals also have increased in severity, to the point that Congress held hearings last June. In the past 20 years, more than 1,500 attacks have been report- MARK MOBI.FY The Associaied Prewt Burning money: The Two Elks Restaurant burns on Vail Mountain early Monday in this photo taken by firefighter Mark Mobley. The environ- mental group Earth Liberation Front has taken responsibility for a series of fires on Vail Mountain, transforming the blazes into what may be the costliest act of in the nation's history. Ljv At left, The Two Elks Lodge on Vail Mountain is in ashes t ed. Arnold, who testified at those hearings, said members of Earth First! upped the ante in 1988 with an attack on the Arizona Snowbowl using explosives to damage ski lifts. Tuesday after a fire consumed the restaurant early Monday. d JACK AKFl.KC'K as it doesn't harm human lives, we approve," said Craig an environmci,,:il Rosebraugh, activist in Portland, Ore., who sent out the communique for the ELF. "I ' hjak it was a statement to corporation a ho c'ontinue to exploit and destroy the Earth. And I think it did just that." "As long It's war Katie Fedor, a spokeswoman for the Animal Liberation Front based in Osseo, Minn., said that her group has allied itself with the ELF and that the two organizations have declared war The Associated I'ress that desecrate the on companies Earth. "It's a war. It's a nonviolent war. It's a nonviolent revolution. Unfortunately, the traditional routes to societal change such as lobbying haven't worked. Constituents are not being heard. We are forced to take nonviolent action," she said. Fedor refused to identify those who carried out the Vail attack, but said: "They assured that no one, human or animal, would be injured and they were successful. People should take comfort in the fact that this was a pro- - fessional action." She said activists who carry out attacks have no formal training and get most of their information on building bombs and other devices from books or the Internet. Arnold said attacks by radical envi- And in Utah The battle escalated further in March 1997 when the Animal Liberation Front used pipe bombs to blow up five feed trucks in an attack on a fur breeder cooperative in Sandy, Utah. The offices and computer system were destroyed; damage was put ronmentalists have increased steadily over the past two decades. One of the first organized groups was the s who Ecoraiders, a group of caused more than $2 million damage in the Santa Catalina mountains near Tucson, Ariz., more than two decades ago, destroying billboards and houses The Unabomber Ted Kaczynski also took up Kaczynski, whose bombings left three people dead and 29 wounded, admitted that two of his victims were chosen based on Earth First! publications. at teen-ager- $1 million. Governor talks Air Force, Army want Great Salt Lake water pumps idle due to environmental concerns about Internet taxation plan By C.G. WALLACE Associated Press Writer - Cov. SALT LAKE CITY Mike Leavitt wants to make sure that Utah doesn't get shortchanged by sales made over the Internet and he touted his efforts to make sure that doesn't happen during a news briefing Thursday. Leavitt said the issue of The released report, Utah the by Thursday of Natural Department Resources and detailed in a the in copyright story , says both the Air Force and the Army will Corps of Engineers demand additional environmental impact studies before The Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY - A new state report on the of the Great Salt Lake raises questions over whether the giant, $60 million pumps primed to fight flooding along the lake's borders will ever crank up again. well-bein- Standard-Examiner- rT3T""T"TJ n rTiiirT i g I (j ...i.iiiiii.n cA the pumps can be started. The pumps, located in Utah's barren West Desert, have been idle for more than a decade but remain primed for action once the lake reaches an elevation of 4,208 feet above sea level. The pumps were authorized by the Utah Legislature in 1986 when the lake was near- - ing its historic peak of almost 4,212 feet. Flooding during that period caused nearly $250 million in damages to roads, dikes, farmlands and structures in the lake's flood plain. The pumps, capable of gushing out 1.5 million gallons of water a minute into the West Desert, were turned on in April of 1987 and operated until June of 1989. During that time, 500 million tons of salt were deposited on the West Desert as the water evaporated. The Corps of Engineers says it is deeply concerned over the potential impact further pumping may have on the ecology of the lake. laiM-fjL--- - - Service Provided by Internet taxation is one of "vital importance" to schools, law enforcement and other areas funded by state tax dollars. This week, Internet taxation legislation that Leavitt worked on closely was included in the final omnibus appropriations budget deal passed by Congress. The legislation will provide moratorium on all a three-yea- r new taxes on the Internet, protect existing state taxing authority and past tax liabilities, while a commission figures out what to do about taxing electronic commerce. "We're not going to tax the at least not until a Internet" be devised to do it can system fairly, Leavitt said Thursday during his monthly news conference at KUED studios. But he said the issue raises many questions. As an exam pie, he said that while he was in California, he ordered a bag of groceries from a company in New York to be delivered to his home in Utah. COPVl AirTouch- 600 Minutes For $39.95 a Month - Cellular Nokia 2180 149.95 Trade 100.00 in $100 TRADE VALUE ON ANY ANALOG PHONE CELLULAR, SALT LAKE CITY 3355 South State St 484-366- Also located EXTRA PEAK MINUTES AVAILABLE ON OTHER PLANS 99 1st Incoming Minute Free LC. 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