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Here is the ad that Oregon Wild wants to display at the Portland International Airport. The port says it violates its policies against political advertising at the airport.

(Oregon Wild)

The Port of Portland has

from environmentalists that shows a denuded hillside under the headline: "Welcome to Oregon: Home of the Clearcut."

The advertising agency that works with the port told Oregon Wild that the ad violated the port's rules against political advertising at the airport. However, the Oregon chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has now taken up the case and is arguing that the port's ban on political ads violates the free speech protections in the Oregon Constitution.

“The ACLU has no position on forest practices, but an important part of our mission is to prevent government censorship of expression,” David Fidanque, the Oregon chapter's executive director said in a statement. “The Port of Portland refuses to allow advertising they conclude is too controversial or political and that is exactly the type of content-based restriction our constitutional free speech protections are designed to prevent.”

Martha Richmond, the port's media relations manager, said she was not aware of the issue and did not have any immediate comment.

Sean Stevens, executive director of Oregon Wild, said the ad was primarily aimed at building opposition

that would allow more intensive timber harvests on western Oregon federal forests that were once owned by the Oregon & California Railroad. The ad was part of a statewide campaign funded by Oregon Wild, The Sierra Club, Audubon Society of Portland, and Center for Biological Diversity.

"The point of this is to shock people a bit," said Stevens, adding that he believes many people are unaware of the extent of clearcuts on private lands in Oregon and how the legislation would affect federal forests.

--Jeff Mapes