STEVE C. WILSON/AP

Protesters rally outside the entrance to the Grand America hotel as Vice President Dick Cheney speaks inside at a luncheon in support of Republican 2nd Congressional District candidate John Swallow on Wednesday in Salt Lake City.

SALT LAKE CITY - About 75 demonstrators fired up chain saws across the street from the hotel where Vice President Dick Cheney spoke Wednesday at a campaign stop to protest a Bush administration proposal to lift a ban on logging in remote areas of national forests.

Members of the public advocacy group U.S. Public Interest Research Group waved placards, sang "America the Beautiful" and marched the sidewalks chanting, "Hey, hey, how many forests did you destroy today" as Cheney spoke at a fund-raising lunch at Little America in downtown Salt Lake City.

"It's time for the Bush administration to stop catering to corporate special interests and start respecting the public interest," said US PIRG spokeswoman Anna Swinson. "They're selling off pieces of our national heritage to the highest bidder."

Environmentalists are angry at the proposal to lift the logging ban, saying the move ignores popular support for protecting forests. Announced Monday, the plan would permit roads to be constructed in national forests. Governors would have to petition the federal government to block road building.

The rule would replace one adopted by the Clinton administration that covers about 58 million of the 191 million acres of national forest nationwide. The rule still is under challenge in federal court.

Some of the protesters hoisted a "Protect Wild Utah" banner and anti-war signs and a trio of musicians sang songs that made fun of Cheney and President Bush.

Some passing motorists honked to show approval of the protesters while others flashed a variety of hand gestures, some pro, some con. A pedestrian and a Lyndon LaRouche supporter briefly hurled political insults at one another, and an irritated man in a black suit complained to police officers about having to walk through the knot of "these idiots" to cross the street.

About a dozen Salt Lake City police officers in a crowd control unit watched and videotaped the demonstration and told people standing on the public sidewalk to keep moving. Around the corner, police closed a busy thoroughfare when Cheney's motorcade arrived and left the building.

Police Detective Phil Eslinger said that due to national security concerns, the city Police Department couldn't reveal how many officers were on hand to provide security for Cheney. An officer on the scene said the FBI has frequently called on them to help with security since the 2002 Olympics. State troopers also formed part of the security contingent.

Protesters said they knew Cheney couldn't see them, nor were they likely to catch a glimpse of him. But that didn't mean they were powerless, said Elizabeth Payne, a 22-year-old Salt Lake City resident who wore an orange T-shirt bearing a likeness of President Bush over the word "liar."

"We're out here raising the issue," said Payne, who declared herself against the Iraq war and worried that the election in November might have worse problems than in 2000. "The more people know, the more empowered they'll feel."