Clinton’s Seattle Visit Draws Forest Protests Environmental Groups Attack Policy On Old-Growth Logging

When President Clinton arrives here this afternoon, he may find his message on jobs upstaged by a 35-foot-long inflatable chain saw.

As part of a campaign swing across the West, Clinton is coming to the Seattle area to talk about jobs and worker retraining programs.

But environmentalists, furious that clear-cutting in Northwest old-growth forests resumed this winter, are intent on reminding the president that they think he’s partly to blame for restarting the war in the woods.

Seattle’s largest environmental groups will hold a rally, complete with the inflatable chain saw and giant salmon as props, at noon today in downtown Seattle. On Thursday, they began to broadcast ads on Seattle radio stations, imploring Clinton to stop the clear-cutting.

But Clinton should have no trouble personally avoiding the controversy. He doesn’t arrive at Paine Field near Everett until 3:20 p.m., and then he will join a roundtable discussion on school-to-work programs and later address about 2,000 invited guests at Shoreline Community College.

The president’s appearance will not be open to the public, and the campus will be closed to all but event ticket-holders. According to the White House, all tickets have been distributed.

Sen. Patty Murray will accompany Clinton. They’re expected to tour the college’s Professional Automotive Training Center, recently named the best vocational program in the country by the American Vocational Association and the automotive industry.

School-to-work programs, a Clinton-backed initiative, are in jeopardy of losing federal funding.

Some in Congress believe states or local school districts should bear the full cost of such programs. Currently, the programs receive only 75 percent of the money initially allocated by Congress.

After a speech in the college gymnasium, again closed to the public, Clinton is scheduled to fly back to Washington, D.C., at 7:30 p.m.

The protests are aimed at a law Clinton signed last summer ordering logging in some old-growth forests that had been protected as endangered species habitat.