home of the wildlife conservation environmental and freedom activist

TO: All forest activists
FROM: Jason Tockman, American Lands Alliance
DATE: October 8, 2001

THOMAS FAST TRACK BILL WOULD IMPERIL FORESTS GLOBALLY
Legislation would expedite new NAFTA-style trade deals
that threaten forest protections

Congress is now poised to vote on the Thomas Fast Track Bill (HR 3005),
which would restrict Congress's authority over the content of new trade
and investment agreements, without ensuring that these trade deals do
not harm our nation's environmental safeguards.  The legislation would
facilitate the expansion of the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) to the entire hemisphere (except Cuba) through the Free Trade
Area of the Americas (FTAA), despite NAFTA's poor record of undermining
environmental protections and the sovereign rights of nation's to
develop and maintain laws and regulations.

Fast Track would also facilitate the negotiation of a new round of the
World Trade Organization (WTO).  Rep. William Thomas (R-CA), chairman of
the House Ways and Means Committee, has announced his plans to pass the
bill out of committee on Tuesday, October 9, and aggressively push in
for a floor vote in the coming weeks.

The environmental and forest impacts of NAFTA and the WTO have been
significant, through not only the direct effects of increased trade in
goods, but also through a complex set of trade rules engineered to
promote commerce without consideration for impacts on environmental
protections.  For example, NAFTA has resulted in accelerated logging of
the ancient forests of Canada, increased air pollution along high-use
trade corridors, and the rollback of a Canadian law that banned a toxic
gasoline additive.  A $970 million case now challenges a California
standard prohibiting a cancer-causing gasoline additive, and Mexico was
fined $16.7 million for prohibiting a landfill that would have
contaminated a community's water supply.  Environmental challenges have
also been brought before the WTO, where in all but one of 21 cases, WTO
tribunals have ruled against the environment.

By facilitating the FTAA, the Thomas Fast Track Bill seeks to extend
NAFTA's impacts to the whole hemisphere.  It would extend NAFTA's
Chapter 11 on investment, allowing transnational corporations from 31
additional countries to challenge U.S. environmental laws if their
profit-making is impeded.  HR 3005 would also:

· Increase industrial clearcut logging of critical forest areas, such as
Chile's ancient temperate forests through the elimination of tariffs
(import taxes)

· Accelerate the spread of ecologically and economically destructive
invasive species through prohibition of precautionary measures

· Impede governments from enacting forest protection safeguards by
forbidding measures--such as eco-labeling, certification, and bans on
raw log exports--considered to be barriers to trade

· Expand trade agreements to cover the service sector, restricting
nations' ability to limit oil and gas development, hazardous waste
facilities, water extraction, and impacts from concentrated tourism
activities such as motorboating

Fast Track is a procedural law by which Congress agrees to not alter
trade agreements developed by U.S. negotiators, in exchange for a set of
guidelines provided to the administration by Congress.  Congress does
reserve its right to vote "yes" or "no" on the final trade deal, but
provides great latitude to negotiators in crafting trade agreements with
the U.S.'s trading partners.

Although Congress could insist upon MANDATORY negotiating objectives for
trade agreements, such as the enforcement and improvement of
environmental laws, the Thomas Bill does no such thing.  It essentially
puts in place negotiating guidelines, with no Congressional mechanism
for assuring that objectives were achieved.  At such time that Congress
votes on a Fast-Tracked trade deal, members are loathe to appear to be
voting against trade, yet they have relinquished their ability to offer
amendments to improve the agreement.  This process is a clear recipe for
more NAFTAs, under the ambitious pursuit of U.S. Trade Representative
Robert Zoellick.

Please contact your House member and ask her or him to vote no on the
Thomas Fast Track Bill, HR 3005, and any other Fast Track bill that
would compromise the environment and forest protections.  Feel free to
use the AFL-CIO's toll free number 1-800-393-1082.  Be sure to speak to
the trade aide or the actual member of Congress, if possible.

If you would like to know where your House member stands, or to provide
feedback on a member's response, contact Jason Tockman at (740) 594-5441
or tockman@americanlands.org.

Great News! We finally have the chance to permanently protect America's
last great coastal rainforest!

On September 20, led by Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D, CT) and Connie
Morella (R, MD) and joined by 76 original co-sponsors, HR 2908- the Alaska Rainforest Conservation Act (ARCA) was introduced in the US House of Representatives. The Act provides legislative protections for the nation's two largest national forests- Alaska's Chugach and Tongass. Celebrated the world over as the last great temperate rainforest, the Chugach and Tongass under the ARCA will receive protection from special interests intent on clear-cut logging, building roads and other harmful development activities in these pristine old growth forests.

The Alaska Rainforest Conservation Act would put more than 14 million acres of the remaining important wildlands of the Tongass and Chugach National Forests permanently off limits to logging, mining, and road building and allow them to continue to provide for hunting, fishing, recreation, tourism, and traditional subsistence activities.

Your efforts to protect Alaska's forest have been critical. Your continued help is needed to help make those protections permanent. Please take a few moments to check the co-sponsor list below to see if your Representative is a sponsor of HR 2908. If so please send a quick note thanking them for their commitment to protect Alaska's forests.  If they are not on the list below, please write your Representative asking them to co-sponsor HR 2908- The Alaska Rainforest Conservation Act. (See sample letter below). Note sure who your Representative is? You can find out quickly at http://www.vote-smart.org/  You can also send a personalized letter to your Representative from www.akrain.org


To read the text of HR 2908 visit http://thomas.loc.gov/

If you are interested in getting more involved with Alaska rainforest issues in your community, send an email to: info@akrain.org

Alaska Rainorest Conservation Act Co-Sponsor List:

Member Name/ State-District

Lee, Barbara CA - 09
Berman, Howard  CA - 26
Miller, George CA -07
Pelosi, Nany CA -08
Tauscher, Ellen CA -10
Lantos, Tom  CA -12
Stark, Pete CA -13
Eshoo, Anna  CA -14
Lofgren, Zoe CA -16
Farr, Sam  CA -17
Capps, Lois  CA -22
Waxman, Henry CA -29
Roybal-Allard, Lucille CA -33
Davis, Susan CA -49
Filner, Bob  CA -50
Woolsey, Lynn CA-06
DeLauro, Rosa CT -03
Maloney, James CT -05
Brown, Corrine FL - 03
Meek, Carrie FL -17
Wexler, Robert FL -19
Deutsch, Peter FL -20
McKinney, Cynthia GA - 04
Mink, Patsy  HI -02
Jackson, Jesse Jr.IL -02
Gutierrez, Luis IL -04
Schakowsky, JaniceIL -09
Evans, Lane  IL -17
Carson, Julia IN -10
Olver, John  MA -01
Neal, Richard MA -02
McGovern, James MA -03
Frank, Barney MA -04
Tierney, John MA -06
Markey, Edward MA -07
Capuano, Michael MA -08
Delahunt, William MA -10
Morella, Connie MD -08
Allen, Thomas ME - 01
Baldacci, John ME - 02
Bonior, David MI - 10
Levin, Sander MI -12
Rivers, Lynn MI -13
Conyers, John MI -14
McCollum, Betty MN -04
Luther, William MN -06
McCarthy, Karen  MO -05
Thompson, Bennie MS -02
Clayton, Eva NC - 01
Pallone, Frank NJ -06
Rothman, Steven NJ -09
Payne, Donald NJ -10
Holt, Rush  NJ -12
Ackerman, Gary NY - 05
Meeks, Gregory NY -06
Crowley, Joseph NY -07
Nadler, Jerrold NY -08
Towns, Edolphus NY -10
Rangel, Charles NY -15
Serrano, Jose NY -16
Engel, Eliot NY -17
Weiner, Anthony NY -17
Slaughter, Louise NY -28
Owens, Major NY-11
Brown, Sherrod OH - 13
Hall, Tony  OH -03
Kucinich, Dennis OH -10
Tubbs Jones, Stephanie  OH -11
Blumenauer, Earl OR - 03
DeFazio, Peter OR -04
Hooley, Darlene OR-05
Hoeffel, Joe PA - 13
Kennedy, Patrick RI - 01
Ford, Harold TN -09
Sanders, Bernard VT - AL
McDermott, Jim WA - 07
Inslee, Jay  WA -01
Baldwin, Tammy WI - 02
Kleczka, Jerry  WI ?04

SAMPLE LETTER
Please personalize this letter asking your Representative to co-sponsor HR 2908 the Alaska Rainforest Conservation Act (note the bill is only in the HOUSE at this time, not the Senate!) It is important to let your
Representative know why YOU would like to see the last great temperate
rainforest of Alaska permanently protected. Some of these reasons may
include: protecting fish and wildlife habitat, tourism, recreation, and
subsistence.
----------------------------------------------------

The Honorable_______________________
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Representative _________________:

I am writing to ask you to co-sponsor HR 2908-the Alaska Rainforest
Conservation Act, protecting one of the nation's greatest treasures, the
Tongass and Chugach National Forests of Alaska.   The temperate rainforest of Alaska, one of the rarest ecosystems on earth, shelters bears, wolves and eagles, supports huge salmon runs, and is home to world renowned recreation, fishing and hunting. I am deeply concerned about the environmental harm that taxpayer-subsidized clearcutting and logging road construction inflict on this national treasure.

The Alaska Congressional delegation has repeatedly tried to increase
subsidized clearcutting in Alaska's rainforest and give away Alaska's
public forestlands to private and corporate owners.  The Alaska Rainforest Conservation Act introduced by Representative DeLauro (CT) will permanently protect the remaining wildlands of the Tongass and Chugach National Forests for future generations to enjoy.  I urge you to sign on as a cosponsor of HR 2908.

Sincerely,(name and complete address)
If at anytime you wish to unsubscribe please visit http://www.akrain.org/howtohelp/default.asp where you can easily remove yourself from the list.  To speak with someone directly please e-mail info@akrain.org or call 907-747-8292.

Thanks for your support.

Alaska Rainforest Campaign Staff.

The Green Gate
NRDC's Online Environmental Guide to the San Francisco Bay Area
http://www.nrdc.org/greengate

Dear California Activist Network member,

We are pleased to introduce you to our newest online resource:  The
Green Gate, NRDC's environmental guide to the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Green Gate gives Bay Area residents (and all Californians) a
wealth of information about air and water quality, wildlife,
environmental health issues and trends in population and urban living
in their region. The Green Gate also offers extensive resources to
help residents and visitors alike enjoy and protect the Bay Area's
remarkable natural assets.

One of The Green Gate's key features is that it brings into focus the
special quality of the Bay Area's natural surroundings -- and why
they're worth protecting. To that end, the site offers practical,
everyday tips on living greener in the Bay Area, and a wide range of
tools and resources, including:

** Photo-illustrated adventure and getaway guides, with trail maps and
directions to trails and parks via public transportation;
(http://www.nrdc.org/greengate/outside)

** Reviews of favorite Bay Area-related books (novels, histories,
guidebooks, poetry and more) about nature and the environment;
(http://www.nrdc.org/greengate/explore)

** A Top Ten list of ways individuals can make a difference;
(http://www.nrdc.org/greengate/topten.asp)

** Detailed guides to driving less and driving smarter, saving energy,
protecting and saving water, and cutting pesticide use;
(http://www.nrdc.org/greengate/guides)

** A county-by-county directory of certified farmers' markets; and
(http://www.nrdc.org/greengate/guides/markets.asp)

** A listing of Bay Area conservation groups, with links and contact
information (http://www.nrdc.org/greengate/guides/groups.asp)

So be sure to bookmark The Green Gate, and please forward this message
to all your Bay Area friends and family, so they can learn more about
this valuable new resource as well.

The Green Gate
http://www.nrdc.org/greengate

==========

The Green Gate is a project of the Natural Resources Defense Council,
a nonprofit environmental organization with over 500,000 members
nationwide and a staff of scientists, attorneys and environmental
experts. Our mission is to protect the planet's wildlife and wild
places and ensure a safe and healthy environment for all living
things.

For more information about NRDC or how to become a member of NRDC,
please contact us at:

Natural Resources Defense Council
40 West 20th Street
New York, NY 10011
212-727-4511 (voice) / 212-727-1773 (fax)
General email: nrdcinfo@nrdc.org
San Francisco Bay Area email: nrdcgreengate@nrdc.org
California Activist Network email: wildcalifornia@nrdc.org
http://www.nrdc.org

Fr: Lisa Dix, American Lands Campaign
Date: October 9, 2001

Interior Appropriations Bill Awaiting Conference
Action Still Needed to Eliminate Anti-Environmental Riders

Although Congress and the Administration agreed on the final numbers for
the Fiscal Year 2002 spending bills, it is still unclear when the
Interior Conference will begin because the exact funding differences
between the House and Senate Interior bills have not yet been resolved.
A meeting this week is likely to resolve some of the final outstanding
issues in the bill.  There is still time to call to call the Conferees
(see list of Conferee targets below) and urge them to:

· Support removing the Stewardship Contracting Rider from the final
Interior bill  
· Support ending the fee demonstration program or at a minimum allow for
only a one year extension with no expansion on the number of fee
locations
· Support directing all hazardous fuels funding to the urban wildlands
interface zone
· Support House report language directing the agency to complete fire
management plans by 2004

Forest Planning Rider Likely to be added in Conference

The Interior Appropriations Committee may consider an anti-environmental
rider that would give the Forest Service a one-year extension to revise
expired forest plans, thereby shielding it from lawsuits.  If the rider
were accepted, the Forest Service would be allowed to continue projects
based on outdated forest plans from the 1980s.  Many Forest plans are
expired or will expire in the next year.
To exempt the Forest Service from this basic management responsibility
dramatically reduces the environmental standards of the agency and
virtually eliminates any accountability, public input or inclusion of
the latest scientific discoveries.

The revision of the national forest plans is necessary to allow the
Forest Service to consider the wilderness suitability of unroaded and
roadless lands and to seek protection for them, deal with growing off
road vehicle threats, integrate updated fire science into plans, and
eliminate old logging standards and guidelines based on outdated
science.  Please call the Conferees and urge them to defeat the forest
planning rider in conference.  

House Conferees
Rep. Norm Dicks, Leslie Turner, ph 202/225-5916, fax 202/226-1176
Rep. John Murtha, Debbie Tekavec, ph 202/225-2065, fax 202/225-5709
Rep. James Moran, Tim Aiken, ph 202/225-4376, fax 202/225-0017
Rep. Maurice Hinchey, Paul Brotherton,ph 202/225-6335,fax 202/226-0774
Rep. Martin Sabo, Robin Hiestand, ph 202/225-4755, fax 202/225-4886

Senate Conferees
Sen. Robert Byrd, Leif Fonnesbeck, ph 202/224-7233, 202/228-0002
Sen. Patrick Leahy, Melody Burkins, ph 202/224-4242, fax 202/224-3479
Sen. Ernest Hollings, Dabney Hegg, ph 202/224-6121, fax 202/224-4293
Sen. Harry Reid, Kai Anderson, ph 202/224-3542 fax 202/224-7327
Sen. Byron Dorgan, Nicole Kroetsch, ph 202/224-1313, 202/224-1193
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Rich Pouyat, ph 202/224-3841, 202/228-3954
Sen. Patty Murray, Doug Clapp, ph 202/224-2621, 202/224-0238

-------------------------------------------------------------
EARTHJUSTICE E-BRIEF
Monthly news and views from Earthjustice
-------------------------------------------------------------

In this issue:

> YOU CAN HELP STOP HARMFUL ENERGY LEGISLATION
> WOW! OVERWHELMING RESPONSE TO ROADLESS PETITION
> SETTLEMENT REACHED IN HAWAI’I
> PROTECTING WILD COHO AND THEIR COASTAL STREAM HABITATS
> TREES VS. THE TIMBER INDUSTRY – WE WON!
> READY TO START YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CAREER?

-------------------------------------------------------------
YOU CAN HELP STOP HARMFUL ENERGY LEGISLATION
Last week, two Senators tried to use our recent national tragedy to force
a vote on harmful energy legislation that included drilling in the Arctic.
While their action was defeated, they’ve made it clear they’ll try again.
Click here to tell your Senator not to let them:
http://ga0.org/campaign/inhofe

-------------------------------------------------------------
WOW! OVERWHELMING RESPONSE TO ROADLESS PETITION
Last month, we asked you to let the U.S. Forest Service know - once again
- that you support the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, the law that will
prevent road development in our national forests. In just 60 days, you and
many others submitted 850,000 comments! Considering that it took a year to
gather the last 1.5 million comments, this response is amazing.

We were also overwhelmed by your response to us. Read your enthusiastic
comments here:
http://www.earthjustice.org/action/fanmail.html

The next hurdle is a court hearing this month. We’ll keep you posted.

-------------------------------------------------------------
SETTLEMENT REACHED IN HAWAI’I
As a result of an Earthjustice lawsuit, the U.S. Army agreed to guidelines
addressing environmental and cultural concerns on the Makua Military
Reservation on the Wai’anae Coast of Oahu. “Both sides have come a long
way to settle this case,” explains Earthjustice attorney David Henkin.
Read about it here:
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=244

-------------------------------------------------------------
PROTECTING WILD COHO AND THEIR COASTAL STREAM HABITATS
Hatchery salmon harm wild salmon by introducing disease, changing the
genetic make-up, and competing for scarce resources. So why did an Oregon
judge rule that they must be included with wild coho when considering
endangered species status? Earthjustice and other groups have filed suit
to reverse the decision.
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=243

-------------------------------------------------------------
TREES VS. THE TIMBER INDUSTRY – WE WON!
Timber and off-road vehicle interests tried to dismantle the Giant Sequoia
National Monument, which conserves nearly 330,000 acres of forest
ecosystems and the last unprotected giant sequoia groves in the Sierra
Nevada. Earthjustice represented a coalition of environmental groups in
telling them “no way.” We won.
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=242

-------------------------------------------------------------
READY TO START YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CAREER?
Get your foot in the door at the nation’s leading environmental law firm,
Earthjustice. We’re accepting applications for the Rick Sutherland
Fellowship from recent law school grads who have significant outstanding
student loans, and have obtained an offer of employment from a non-profit
organization.
http://www.earthjustice.org/about/education/Sutherland.html

-------------------------------------------------------------
ABOUT EARTHJUSTICE
Founded as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund in 1971, Earthjustice is the
non-profit law firm for the environment. Earthjustice represents hundreds
of environmental organizations, large and small, from nine offices across
the country.  We do not charge our clients for our services.
http://www.earthjustice.org

SUPPORT US
Your support of Earthjustice will help defend and protect our forests and
other public lands; our air, water, and wildlife; our children, and our
communities. Please, join us.
http://www.earthjustice.org/support/


QUESTIONS? FEEDBACK?
Drop us a line:mailto:enews@earthjustice.org

October 10 --- When the House considers the 2002 Labor-Health
and Human Services Appropriations Bill (as early as
today), Rep. Melissa Hart (R-PA) may offer an amendment
to restrict teens' access to emergency contraception.
Please take 30 seconds to contact your Representative
TODAY and tell him/her that you oppose the Hart amendment.


You can take action on this alert either via email
(please see directions below) or via the web at:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/Hart_EC_Alert/ee3bx2078xbw8

Visit the web address below and tell your friends to
take action on this important campaign!
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/Hart_EC_Alert/forward/ee3bx2078xbw8

We encourage you to take action by October 12, 2001

Reproductive Health Threatened Again in the U.S. House!

----------------------

First term Rep. Melissa Hart (R-PA) is leading an aggressive
effort to restrict teens' access to emergency contraception.
When the House considers the 2002 Labor-Health and
Human Services Appropriations (maybe as soon as later
today - October 10), Rep. Hart may offer an amendment
to bar school based health clinics from providing access
to emergency contraception.  

The Hart amendment will jeopardize the health of teenagers
who are looking to act responsibly after engaging in
unprotected sex. Emergency contraceptives (EC) are
proven safe and effective at preventing pregnancy when
taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. If widely
used, EC could reduce unintended pregnancies by 75
percent.  

The Hart amendment undermines local control of health
care delivery and threatens the success of teen pregnancy
prevention efforts. We know that information about
and access to contraceptives are critical to helping
teenagers prevent pregnancy. Finally, by shutting the
doors to young people who need emergency contraceptives,
we will be losing an important opportunity to provide
them with counseling about the importance of delaying
sexual activity and the importance of protecting themselves
from pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted
disease.  

Please take just a moment to let your Representative
know you oppose this misguided amendment.

----------------------

INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE WEB:
If you have access to a web browser, you can take action
on this alert by going to the following URL:

http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/Hart_EC_Alert/ee3bx2078xbw8  

INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA EMAIL:
Just choose the "reply to sender" option on your email
program, and edit the letter below as you wish. Do
not delete "-YOU MAY EDIT THE LETTER BELOW-" and "-END
OF LETTER-". Please do not add your name and address
to your letter. Our system automatically does this
for you.  

We STRONGLY encourage you to make edits directly to
our sample letter below, and put the alert talking
points into your own words. An individualized letter
is worth ten computer generated letters. Of course,
hundreds of unedited letters will still create a large
impact, so please reply even if you don't have time
to personalize the letter.

Your letter will be addressed and sent to:
Representative David Price


-------YOU MAY EDIT THE LETTER BELOW---------

I am writing to urge you to oppose an amendment offered
by Rep. Melissa Hart to the 2002 Labor Health and Human
Services Education Bill that would block access to
emergency contraception at school-based health centers.

Access to emergency contraception is an important element
in efforts to reduce our nation's staggering rate of
teenage pregnancy. Each year, nearly one million teenagers
become pregnant. Fully 80% of these pregnancies are
unintended and half will end in abortion. The Hart
amendment does nothing to address these alarming numbers.

This amendment will not reduce teenage sexual activity.
It will only prevent teens who have had unprotected
intercourse or who have experienced a contraceptive
failure from acting responsibly by seeking the services
necessary to avoid unintended pregnancy. Many of these
teens will also miss a crucial opportunity to be counseled
by a health professional about delaying sexual activity,
the risks of unprotected intercourse and the importance
of being tested for sexually transmitted diseases,
including HIV. That's why every major medical and public
heath group supports access to confidential reproductive
health services for young people.

Please vote NO on the Hart amendment.

-------END OF LETTER-------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------
EARTHJUSTICE ACTION ALERT:
PROTECT ALASKA'S STELLER SEA LIONS!
-----------------------------------------------------

You are receiving this special Earthjustice action alert because we need
your help protecting Steller sea lions from extinction. Please click here
to take action immediately:
http://www.earthjustice.org/action/stellar.html

-----------------------------------------------------
Background:
Bending to pressure from the fishing industry, the National Marine
Fisheries Service is preparing to approve commercial fishing regulations
that government scientists admit will continue to push the Steller sea
lion towards extinction.

Under industry's preferred plan, the agency would implement a commercial
fishing program in the waters off Alaska that will remove restrictions on
the amount of fish that factory trawlers can catch in the Steller sea
lion's habitat. This would significantly reduce the sea lion's food source
and is projected to lead to the death of nearly 1,000 additional Steller
sea lions over the next decade.

There is another option - a sea lion recovery alternative supported by the
conservation community. This alternative will help the endangered sea
lions to recover while allowing for family based fishing and small scale
operations to continue off the Alaskan coast.

Please urge the Fisheries Service today to adopt this humane alternative.
They need to hear from you by October 15. Click here:
http://www.earthjustice.org/action/stellar.html

-----------------------------------------------------
ABOUT EARTHJUSTICE
Founded as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund in 1971, Earthjustice is the
non-profit law firm for the environment. Earthjustice represents hundreds
of environmental organizations, large and small, from nine offices across
the country. We do not charge our clients for our services.

http://www.earthjustice.org

Natural Resources Defense Council's

LEGISLATIVE WATCH

October 10, 2001

Contents:

1) Legislative Watch
2) About Our Bulletins/How to Subscribe & Unsubscribe
3) About NRDC/How to Contact Us

The information in this bulletin is also available on our website at
http://www.nrdc.org/legislation/legwatch.asp. The web version links to
the text of bills and congressional web pages. To take action on these
and other environmental issues, visit NRDC's Earth Action Center at
http://www.nrdc.org/action, where you can use our online activism
tools or subscribe to Earth Action, our biweekly activist bulletin.

1) LEGISLATIVE WATCH

This is a status report on congressional action on the environment. To
make new or updated sections easy to find, we've highlighted them
with:
= N O T E ! =

10/10/01

Members of Congress are currently focused on passing bills to address
domestic security issues, such as increasing airline safety and
ensuring the safety of domestic energy supplies and infrastructure.
Work on appropriations bills continues behind the scenes, with the
Interior funding bill likely to be the first to emerge from
House/Senate negotiations.

...

Budget/Appropriations

= N O T E ! =
By 9/25, both the House and Senate approved a continuing resolution
(H.J. Res. 65) to provide stopgap funding to keep the government
running through 10/16, and the Bush administration and Congress
recently agreed to a $686 billion cap on discretionary funding for
next year. Even though the overall cap is set, individual allocations
for each of the 13 appropriations bills are not yet final, and another
continuing resolution likely will be needed by the end of this week to
continue to fund the federal government while these bills are
completed. Conferees have been appointed, and negotiations could occur
quickly, to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions
of funding bills for the Department of the Interior, the Department of
Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and energy and water
infrastructure projects. Funding may be cut in several of these areas
to pay for increased military and other security expenditures.

On 9/13, the Senate approved S. 1215, its bill for next year's funding
of the departments of Commerce, Justice, and State. Although the
Senate included just over $3 billion for the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (which manages ocean, coastal and fisheries
programs), the Senate cut funds for addressing polluted coastal
runoff. The Senate, however, improved language in the bill that could
have hindered federal efforts to develop a system of protected marine
areas. The House approved its version of the funding bill (H.R. 2500)
on 7/18.

On 8/2, the Senate passed, by a vote of 94-5, its $7.75 billion EPA
funding bill (S. 1216), which includes full funding for the agency's
federal enforcement efforts. The bill was amended by Sen. Boxer (D-CA)
to require the EPA to take immediate action to protect children from
arsenic in drinking water. On 7/30, the House approved its $7.5
billion EPA funding bill (H.R. 2620) after amending it to prevent the
Bush administration from delaying or weakening the new tougher
arsenic-in-drinking-water standard issued in January by the Clinton
administration. Language that would have hindered efforts to address
global warming was removed from the bill, but an amendment to restore
$25 million for the EPA's federal enforcement activities failed by a
vote of 188-214. Other provisions remaining in the House bill weaken
efforts to provide protections against radon, pesticides, and
hazardous wastes.

President Bush has threatened to veto the Senate Foreign Operations
funding bill. The president opposes language in the bill that
overturns his executive order banning federal funds from going to
international family planning organizations that promote or perform
abortions. The Senate bill also contains an additional $295 million in
funding for a new international program to promote cleaner energy and
energy conservation. The new funds were added by Sen. Byrd (D-WV).
Senate funding for the Global Environment Facility has been increased
only slightly above last year's levels in the Senate bill. The House
approved its Foreign Operations funding bill, H.R. 2506, on 7/24. The
bill includes a $25 million cut in funds for the Global Environment
Facility, which provides grants for projects that combat global
warming and promote sustainable development worldwide.

On 7/19, the Senate passed the Energy and Water spending bill, which
includes Sen. Stabenow's (D-MI) proposal to ban oil and gas drilling
in the Great Lakes for two years. In committee, the Senate improved a
provision inserted in the House bill by Rep. Latham (R-IA) that would
have blocked efforts to save three endangered species on the Missouri
River by preventing the federal government from releasing water in the
spring to restore more natural conditions (the Senate compromise would
allow water to be released in the spring). The House passed its
version of the energy and water bill on 6/28 by a vote of 405-15.
Among its troubling provisions, the bill authorizes $1 million in
studies on an expensive California water project that would destroy
environmental resources while failing to provide funds for
environmental restoration.

On 7/12, the Senate approved $18.5 billion to fund the Interior
department and related agencies. The bill, H.R. 2217, includes a ban
on oil and gas development in national monuments and bans funds for
even studying oil and gas development in sensitive coastal waters. The
Senate also rejected an effort by the House to prevent expanded
offshore oil and gas drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and
provided less funding for energy efficiency than the House bill, but
rejected a move to override environmental protections for endangered
species by depriving them of water from the Upper Klamath Lake. Also,
Sen. Stevens (R-AK) added a provision to override a court decision
limiting large cruise ships in Glacier Bay National Park. On 6/21, the
House passed its version of the Interior bill by a vote of 376-32.
Bipartisan amendments were approved to reverse Bush administration
policies that would have allowed oil and gas drilling within the
boundaries of national monuments, oil and gas development off the west
coast of Florida, and mining on public lands.

On 7/12, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $60 billion for
transportation funding (S. 1178). On 6/26, the House approved its
transportation funding bill (H.R. 2299). For the first time in six
years, this bill does not include language blocking the federal
government from considering whether vehicle fuel economy standards
should be increased.

On 7/10, the Senate approved nearly $7 billion in supplemental funding
for fiscal year 2001. This bill, S. 1077, contains $300 million in
financial assistance for low-income households struggling with high
power bills this summer. The House approved its version of the bill
(H.R. 2216) on 6/20.

For a step-by-step guide to our annual odyssey through resolutions,
reconciliations and appropriations, see NRDC's budget process fact
sheet (http://www.nrdc.org/legislation/fbudg.asp).

...

Clean Air and Energy

= N O T E ! =
Several Senate and House committees are now poised to address the
vulnerability of our energy sources to terrorist attacks. A new
subcommittee on terrorism was formed in the House, and Energy
committee members in both houses are being briefed on the ability of
our electric power, oil and gas, and nuclear infrastructures to
withstand attacks.

= N O T E ! =
Sen. Jeffords (I-VT), chair of the Environment and Public Works
Committee, plans to hold a legislative hearing on 10/18 (and mark-up
as early as 11/1) to discuss S. 556, a bill that seeks to reduce four
types of power plant emissions, which he co-authored with Sen.
Lieberman (D-CT). The bill would impose mandatory cuts on carbon
dioxide pollution. The House companion bill, H.R. 1256, was introduced
by Rep. Boehlert (R-NY) and Rep. Waxman (D-CA). The Bush
administration is expected to renege on a campaign promise to regulate
carbon dioxide, the key greenhouse gas causing global warming, when it
releases a three-pollutant power plant proposal that does not reduce
carbon dioxide emissions.

= N O T E ! =
On 10/10, Senate Majority Leader Daschle (D-SD) directed Sen. Bingaman
(D-NM), chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, to
develop energy legislation that could be enacted this year. The
committee held a hearing on 10/9 on the vulnerability of our nation's
energy infrastructure. Sen. Bingaman is expected to include
infrastructure security provisions modeled on those in S. 1480, which
amends the law that protects dams, as part of the legislation he sends
to Sen. Daschle.

= N O T E ! =
Rep. Barton (R-TX), chair of the House Energy and Air Quality
subcommittee, will hold another electricity restructuring hearing on
10/10. The House likely will not consider any legislation coming out
of these hearings this year.

= N O T E ! =
On 10/2, the Senate unanimously blocked efforts to attach unrelated
provisions to the Defense Authorization bill (S. 1438), paving the way
for passage of this legislation. Since 9/24, Sen. Inhofe (R-OK) had
been trying to attach the entire House energy bill (H.R. 4) or Sen.
Murkowski's (R-AK) energy bill (S. 388) as an amendment to this bill,
which would have opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to
drilling and provided massive subsidies to the oil, coal, gas, and
nuclear industries. Strong opposition to Sen. Inhofe's proposed
amendment delayed S. 1438's passage for at least a week.

Prior to 9/11, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Committee began consideration of higher vehicle fuel economy
standards. On 8/2, Sen. Kerry (D-MA) held a hearing on the recent
National Academy of Sciences report on the importance of raising fuel
economy standards. The committee is expected to consider a bill (S.
804) introduced by Senators Feinstein (D-CA), Snowe (R-ME), Schumer
(D-NY), and Collins (R-ME), which seeks to tighten corporate fuel
economy standards for sport utility vehicles and light trucks. The
bill would require that SUVs and other light trucks increase fuel
economy to 27.5 mpg by model year 2007, expand the current fuel
economy standards to trucks weighing between 8,500-10,000 pounds by
2007, and raise the fuel economy of the federal government's fleet by
6 mpg. SUVs and light trucks currently use 43 percent more gasoline
per mile than the average car. H.R. 1815 is the House companion bill.

On 8/2, the House approved its version of an energy bill (H.R. 4) by a
vote of 240-189. The House passed four separate energy bills out of
four different committees, and combined them into one bill of more
than 500 pages that does little to create a sound, balanced energy
policy. Rather, the bill would provide tens of billions of dollars in
subsidies to the coal, oil, gas and nuclear industries, open the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other sensitive areas to oil and
gas drilling, weaken environmental protections for other public lands,
do little to improve fuel economy standards, and starve renewable
energy and energy efficiency programs of needed funding.

NRDC's report, A Responsible Energy Policy for the 21st Century
(http://www.nrdc.org/air/energy/rep/repinx.asp), outlines the
components of an alternative energy policy -- one that can meet the
nation's energy needs without destroying wilderness or rolling back
environmental safeguards.

...

Clean Water

= N O T E ! =
On 10/5, the House approved a farm bill (H.R. 2646) by a vote of
291-120, while rejecting an amendment by Rep. Kind (D-WI) and Rep.
Boehlert (R-NY) that would have transferred $1.9 billion per year from
commodity subsidies to farm conservation, wetlands restoration, and
wildlife habitat programs. An amendment by Rep. D. Miller (R-FL) and
Rep. G. Miller (D-CA) to decrease sugar subsidies and apply the
savings to Everglades restoration also failed. The Bush administration
criticized the House bill because of its high price tag, large
subsidies, and failure to help the small farmer. The Senate has begun
to work on its version of the farm bill.

The House Resources Committee postponed until late October any
consideration of H.R. 1985, Rep. Calvert's (R-CA) bill to reauthorize
a federal and state partnership in California that provides water for
urban and agricultural users, as well as for wildlife and habitat
restoration. Environmentalists oppose the Calvert bill because it
would upset the balance of this critical partnership, and could
jeopardize the environmental restoration that was expected to result.
The Calvert bill would allow the construction of new dams in
California without appropriate review, and could give agricultural
water users priority over the environment. Sen. Feinstein (D-CA) also
introduced a reauthorization bill (S. 976), but is still modifying it
after similar concerns were raised at a hearing. Rep. Miller (D-CA)
has introduced a bill, H.R. 2404, which would reauthorize the program
without harmful anti-environment provisions. Environmentalists support
the Miller bill.

Facing strong opposition from Sen. Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Boxer
(D-CA), Donald Schregardus withdrew his nomination to head the EPA's
enforcement office on 9/10. Among other issues, the former head of
Ohio's environmental protection agency faced criticism for the state's
inadequate enforcement of many federal environmental laws.

On 9/6, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved President Bush's
nominee Mike Parker to run the Army Corps of Engineers. The
Environment and Public Works Committee also must approve this
nomination. Environmental groups are concerned about positions that
Parker has taken in the past that indicate he does not value the
environmental mission of the Corps.

...

Forests

= N O T E ! =
In closed negotiations over funding bills this week, some members of
Congress are trying to attach a provision to the Interior funding bill
that would block the Forest Service's obligation to review forest
management plans at least every 15 years. This provision, which has
not been considered or debated in either the House or the Senate,
would undermine environmental safeguards for national forests and
reduce Forest Service accountability and public input.

...

Global Warming

On 8/2, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee approved a bill (S.
1008) introduced by Sen. Byrd (D-WV) and Sen. Stevens (R-AK) that
creates a framework for the United States to develop a comprehensive
program to reduce pollution that contributes to global warming. The
bill also provides more than $4 billion over 10 years for research to
develop clean, alternative energy sources.

On 8/1, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the State
Department authorization bill, S. 1401. An amendment offered by Sen.
Kerry (D-MA) that urges the administration to continue to engage in
international negotiations to reduce global warming pollution passed
unanimously. The Senate bill is similar to the House-approved bill to
reauthorize the State Department (H.R. 1646) that contains language,
added by Rep. Menendez (D-NJ), which urges the United States to reduce
greenhouse gases and continue to participate in international
negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol.

...

International Environmental Protections

= N O T E ! =
On 10/9, the House Ways and Means Committee approved H.R. 3005, a
trade promotion bill introduced by the chair of the committee, Rep.
Thomas (R-CA). The bill grants "fast track," or expedited, authority
to the president to negotiate new trade agreements. Environmental,
consumer, social justice, and labor groups oppose this bill because it
fails to ensure adequate environmental and labor standards and could
undermine current protections. The bill, which is supported by the
Bush administration, is similar to fast track legislation that was
rejected by Congress in 1997 and 1998, except that it provides even
fewer positive labor and environmental provisions, while offering more
restrictions on public safety and environmental protection. On 10/3,
the ranking minority members of the committee, Rep. Rangel (D-NY), and
Rep. Levin (D-MI), introduced their own trade bill (H.R. 3019), which
has stronger congressional oversight and environmental standards.

...

Marine Mammals

= N O T E ! =
On 10/11, the House Resources Fisheries Conservation subcommittee will
hold a hearing on marine mammal issues, including the use of low
frequency active sonar by the Navy, which could harm whales and other
marine life. The Navy wants to deploy this sonar worldwide, but needs
a permit from the National Marine Fisheries Service. Numerous
scientists, as well as environmental and animal rights groups, have
joined forces to oppose the use of this sonar, both because of the
grave risks it presents to marine mammals and the inadequate
information that the Navy currently has about its impacts on marine
life.  

...

Nuclear

= N O T E ! =
On 10/4, Rep. Barton's (R-CA) House Energy and Air Quality
subcommittee approved a bill (H.R. 2983) to reauthorize the
Price-Anderson Act until 2017. This act, which provides federal
insurance for nuclear power plants in case of an accident, is a huge
subsidy to the nuclear industry. Environmental groups oppose
reauthorization because it would encourage more nuclear power plant
construction without addressing nuclear waste contamination. It would
also shift responsibility for the full cost of nuclear power plant use
from the nuclear industry to taxpayers.

...

Public Health

= N O T E ! =
On 10/3, the House Science committee approved Rep. Ehlers' (R-MI) bill
(H.R. 64), which creates the position of deputy for science and
technology at the Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental
groups are concerned that this position could be used in a political
manner to undercut the science conducted at the agency and the
policies adopted as the result of it. Environmentalists have also
expressed disappointment that the bill fails to address the major
scientific shortcomings at EPA, including undue reliance on industry
studies and external review by advisory committees that are often
dominated by industry representatives and researchers.

...

Public Lands

= N O T E ! =
On 10/2, the Senate passed the Defense Authorization bill, S. 1438.
The House version, H.R. 2586, which passed on 9/25, includes
provisions that would allow the expansion of Fort Irwin in the
California desert, but would imperil the survival and recovery of
federally protected endangered species, such as the desert tortoise
and Lane Mountain milkvetch. The House bill would end the
conservation of 110,000 acres of spectacular and botanically diverse
wildlands in the California Desert, including lands Congress has
identified as meriting wilderness protection. Environmentalists are
pushing to provide for additional funding to protect the tortoise and
for the designation of new protected areas so that the desert can be
protected while supporting military readiness.

On 8/17, President Bush signed into law H.R. 2131, a noncontroversial
bill introduced by Rep. Portman (R-OH) that reauthorizes a "debt for
nature" swap program that allows other countries to apply debt
payments to projects aimed at saving tropical forests.

...

For information on the environmental voting records of members of
Congress, see the League of Conservation Voter's National
Environmental Scorecards at http://www.lcv.org/scorecards/index.htm

...........

2) About Our Bulletins/How to Subscribe & Unsubscribe

NRDC distributes three bulletins by email. To subscribe to any or all
of them or to join our activist networks, go to
http://www.join.nrdcaction.org/subscribe.asp. If you already subscribe
and want to change your subscriptions or update your email address or
other information, go to http://www.join.nrdcaction.org/profileeditor
(or see the unsubscribe information below).

EARTH ACTION is sent biweekly and calls out urgent environmental
issues requiring immediate action. To unsubscribe from Earth Action,
send an email message to earthaction@nrdcaction.org with REMOVE in the
subject line.

LEGISLATIVE WATCH is sent biweekly when Congress is in session and
tracks environmental bills moving through the federal legislature. To
unsubscribe from Legislative Watch, send an email message to
legwatch@nrdcaction.org with REMOVE in the subject line.

The CALIFORNIA ACTIVIST NETWORK ACTION ALERT is distributed monthly to
members of NRDC's California Activist Network and provides action
tools to Californians and others concerned with protecting the state's
natural resources and the health of its citizens. To unsubscribe, send
an email message to wildcalifornia@nrdcaction.org with REMOVE in the
subject line.

...........

3) About NRDC/How to Contact Us

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a nonprofit environmental
organization with over 500,000 members nationwide and a staff of
scientists, attorneys and environmental experts. Our mission is to
protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and ensure a safe and
healthy environment for all living things.

For more information about NRDC or how to become a member of NRDC,
please contact us at:

Natural Resources Defense Council
40 West 20th Street
NY, NY 10011
212-727-4511 (voice) / 212-727-1773 (fax)
General information: nrdcinfo@nrdc.org
Email subscription questions: nrdcaction@nrdc.org
http://www.nrdc.org

Also visit:
BioGems -- Saving Endangered Wild Places
A project of the Natural Resources Defense Council
http://www.savebiogems.org

Frontline Information Service   -   News 10/11/01
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


A.L.F. Claims Responsibility for Coulston Federation Fire
_________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 11, 2001


The below communique was received by the Frontline Information Service.

Photos and video mentioned below are also available online at
http://www.animalliberation.net/tcf/

text of the communique follows:

----

alf claims responsibility for the million dollar fire set in the maintenance
building at the coulston foundation (tcf).

tcf has the largest colony of captive chimpanzees in the world and has been in
violation of even the minimal standards of the animal welfare act for years.
the usda has brought more charges against tcf than any other research lab, yet
it refuses to enforce the law and shut this horrific institution down.  tcf is
in such a deplorable state that the national institutes of health has pulled
its funding and tcf also lost their accreditation as a research lab.  tcf is
under attack by legal groups and individuals across the country and is
teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.

chimpanzees share more than 98% of the same DNA as humans and live in complex
social family groups in the wild.  at tcf, they live isolated in prisons of
concrete floors and metal walls, with no other "enrichment" items besides an
occasional ball, tire, or TV set.  during nights of observation, we heard the
chimps and macaque monkeys periodically scream and crazily pound on the walls,
sounds we will never forget.

a separate, anonymous video crew with no knowledge of our action plans filmed
the disgusting conditions of this place.  the audio track on this raw video
footage was removed because the crew talked to the chimps to try and calm them
down.  the footage shows a crew member feeding them raisins.  some of the
chimps were eager for this friendly contact, but others only rocked themselves,
nearly catatonic, in the corners of their cages.

we wanted to liberate all these animals but because of difficulty in moving and
sheltering them, especially since they're infected with HIV, hepatitis and
herpes, we decided the best way to help them was to cause as much economic
damage to tcf as possible. every precaution was taken to avoid injury to the
animals, personnel, security and firefighters.

we intend for this act of nonviolent economic sabotage to bring an end to this
truly evil institution. if any investors consider bailing out tcf, they'll have
to factor in large financial losses from direct action.

for the animals, alf

-30-

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
F R O N T L I N E - N E W S              Now With 4400+ Subscribers!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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Questions? Please read our FAQ before e-mailing us.
http://www.animalliberation.net/about/faq.html

****************************
* WILD ALERT
* Thursday, October 11, 2001
****************************

Dear WildAlert Subscriber,

The Forest Service is seeking comment on "interim direction" for
managing our National Forest roadless areas, while it continues the
process of revising and weakening the Roadless Area Conservation Rule.  
The proposed interim measures provide no protection for the Tongass
National Forest and a dozen other forests across the country.  The
Forest Service now seems intent on returning to the old days when
timber companies called the shots and conservation was largely
ignored.

Take action today at
http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/?step=2&item=679 and tell Forest
Service Chief Dale Bosworth that you oppose measures that expedite
logging or road construction in our wild roadless national forest
lands.  (Comment deadline is October 22.)

BACKGROUND
The Forest Service is now processing more than 800,000 comments it
received on how to revise (and essentially gut) the Roadless Areas
Conservation Rule, a phenomenal number.  The vast majority of those
comments were in support of preserving the rule and protecting our
national forest roadless areas.

But after a federal judge in Idaho temporarily suspended the Rule
earlier in the year, Chief Bosworth issued two 'interim directives' in
July to manage roadless areas until the Forest Service could complete
the process of trying to weaken the new rule.  Now the agency wants
public input on those interim directives.

Under these proposals Chief Bosworth would take personal
responsibility for deciding whether to approve logging in roadless
areas.  But even this modest protection would not apply to the Tongass
and about a dozen other national forests, including the George
Washington National Forest in Virginia and the Arapahoe-Roosevelt in
Colorado.  Specifically, the directives:

(1) do not prohibit logging or road building in roadless areas;
(2) exempt the Tongass National Forest and numerous other national
forests with revised management plans from any roadless area
protections not specified in the plans; and
(3) provide additional exceptions for road building in all national
forests.

By contrast, the Roadless Rule permanently protects 58.5 million acres
of roadless areas in all national forests from logging and
road-building.

TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST
At the heart of the world's largest remaining temperate rainforest,
and our nation's largest national forest, the Tongass spans 500
awe-inspiring miles of Alaska's coast.  This land of ancient,
moss-hung groves, misty isles, and hanging glaciers supports the
world's largest breeding populations of grizzly bears and bald eagles.  
Its rivers teem with wild salmon.  Wildness endures here as nowhere
else among all our public forestlands.

Nowhere was the Roadless Area Conservation Rule more critical than in
the Tongass, with far and away the most roadless areas -- and the
most roadless area logging planned -- of all national forests.  Now
the Forest Service says it wants to make the Tongass and some other of
our nation's most pristine national forests ineligible for even a
modest procedural protection by the Chief of the Forest Service.  As a
result, it will be much faster and easier to log these precious lands.

TAKE ACTION
Tell the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service you've had enough of inside
deals with special corporate interests that hasten destruction of the
Tongass and other wildlands.  Send a letter by OCTOBER 22nd from
http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/?step=2&item=679 or tell the
Forest Service directly that you:

   - Oppose any moves by the US Forest Service that authorize or
expedite logging or road construction in wild, roadless portions of
our national forests. Specifically:
   - National Forests should not be exempted from roadless area
protection based on forest plan revisions. None of the completed plan
revisions took into account the scientific studies and public
involvement that occurred during development of the Roadless Rule, nor
did they directly address roadless area protection.
   - The roadless areas of the Tongass National Forest are a national
treasure and should not be excluded from protection.
   - The interim directives should only allow management activities in
roadless areas that are consistent with the Roadless Area Conservation
Rule and that protect and sustain roadless area values.
   - The exceptions in the road-building interim directive should be
fully consistent with the Roadless Rule as some of the proposed
exceptions are overly broad and subject to abuse.

Send your comments to:
Content Analysis Team, Forest Service, USDA
Attention: Roadless Interim Directives
P.O. Box 221150, Salt Lake City, UT, 84122
EMAIL: roadless_id@fs.fed.us
FAX: 801-296-4088


***************************************************************
For a full list of Action Items, visit
http://www.wilderness.org/whatcan/takeaction.htm

***************************************************************
An archive of past Wildalerts can be found at
http://www.wilderness.org/wildalert/wildalerts.htm

***************************************************************
WildAlert is an email action alert system brought to you by The
Wilderness Society to keep you apprised of threats to our wildlands --
in the field and in Washington.  WildAlert messages include updates
along with clear, concise actions you can take to protect America's
last wild places.  You are welcome to forward Wildalerts to all those
interested in saving America's wildlands.

FEEDBACK: If you need to get in contact with the owner of the list,
(if you have trouble unsubscribing, or have questions about the list
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TO SUBSCRIBE: If you have been forwarded this message and would like
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is a member of a TWS mailing list. To unsubscribe, send an email to
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Or visit the TWS unsubscribe page at:
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Founded in 1935, The Wilderness Society works to protect America's
wilderness and to develop a nation-wide network of wild lands through
public education, scientific analysis and advocacy.  Our goal is to
ensure that future generations will enjoy the clean air and water,
wildlife, beauty and opportunities for recreation and renewal that
pristine forests, rivers, deserts and mountains provide. To take
action on behalf of wildlands today, visit our website at
http://www.wilderness.org

October 8 - 14, 2001
v1.16

As long as the sun keeps shining the "Positive Energy" keeps
flowing...

Time for the highlight of your week - Greenpeace's Clean
Energy Now Weekly Update.

>>> GET OUT THE VOTE!!!

Spend a few hours this weekend to help start the clean
energy revolution in San Francisco. PG&E is out in full
force. So we need to work hard to get our message about
clean, affordable, energy future to the people and pass
Propositions H and B. There are only 3 weeks left until
Election Day, Nov. 6th, so we need your help for a better,
greener city! Here is how you can get involved!

--Saturday, October 13th
Solar Yes and Save the Bay Precinct Walk in District 8 at
the Glen Park Bart Station at 10 am.  Contact Stephanie
Bonin (415) 255-9221 x320, swbgreen@yahoo.com, for details
and to confirm.

Solar Yes and Green Party Precinct Walk in District 5 & 9
at Green Party Headquarters, 15th and Mission.  10:30 am.  
For details and to confirm, contact:
Dan Firger
(415) 255-9221 x322,
danielfirger@yahoo.com

--Sunday, October 14th
District 3 Precinct Walk at Caffe Greco, 423 Columbus Ave (
between Vallejo and Green) in North Beach at 10 am.
Supervisor Aaron Peskin will be speaking. Light breakfast
will be provided. Bring a backpack and water. Contact
Jacqueline with the Greenpeace Solar Yes Campaign
(415) 255-9221 x.318, or email reenjacqueline@yahoo.com

>>>  ROLLING SUNLIGHT DEBUTS AT THE POWER RALLY

The Rolling Sunlight Solar Truck will made its debut
performance at the Ralph Nader  "People Have the Power Tour"
in San Francisco on October 11. The truck is a CO2 neutral
vehicle with a built in power plant of 2.4 kw of
photovoltaic solar power. The 256 square feet of PV cells
will produce power for the next 30 years with no emissions.
The truck also has the capacity to power three-energy
efficient homes continuously or a concert of 3,000 people.

For more information on upcoming Rolling Sunlight Events,
call: 415-255-9221 ext: 321

>>> CPA GOES HOME TO SACRAMENTO FOR THE 6TH MEETING

Come and help the Rolling Sunlight Solar Truck and
Greenpeace's Clean Energy Team pressure the CPA to invest
$2 billion dollars in renewables. We will visit Sacramento
and Davis on Thursday, October 18, 2001, passing out
balloons and information with a grand finale at the CPA
meeting on Friday, October 19, 2001 at 10 am, P Street in
Sacramento.

For more information visit www.cleanenergynow.org or call
415-255-9221 ext: 321

Want to do more? Become a Greenpeace member today!
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/join2/cen.htm

Given the horrific events of September 11th,  NET decided to temporarily
refrain from engaging in many of our day-to-day advocacy efforts.  This
temporary refrain included a halt on asking our members to lobby either
Congress or the executive branch.  It is our assessment that it is now
appropriate to renew our grassroots advocacy efforts and we will be
resuming our practice of alerting you to various anti-environmental efforts underway
and asking for your help in stopping them.  To that end, please find below
an urgent request to keep Alaska's Steller sea lions from the brink of extinction.

Many of you joined with us last year in the campaign to keep the Steller
sea lions from extinction. You'll probably remember that the final
compromise reached in the U.S. Senate delayed permanent action on the
issue, but provided an opportunity for us to fight another day.  That day
has now come and we must once again do all we can to defend the sea lion.
Official comments are being accepted by the National Marine Fisheries
Service but only until close of business on Monday, October 15th, so please
visit  www.environet.org/grassroots to submit your comment today.

The issue here is simple, the population of Alaska's Steller sea lions are
in deep trouble and a billion dollar commercial fishery continues to
deplete their much needed food sources in areas designated as critical
habitat. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the agency charged
with regulating Alaska's commercial fisheries so they do not harm the sea
lions, is doing what it always does -- making sure that the profits of the
industrial trawling fleets are protected. The new head of the NMFS,
William Hogarth, has even gone on record (Seattle Times 9/9/01) as saying
that further decline of the Steller sea lions is inevitable and that his
agency's protection rules "will be tailored to preserve the nation's most
valuable groundfish harvest while minimizing its impact on the remaining
34,600 sea lions."

Please visit www.environet.org/grassroots, or click on the "Compose Fax"
button below, to send a Free FAX to the NMFS and tell them that it is
unacepptable for them to stand by and watch the Steller sea lion become
extinct.

Thanks for your time and effort.

Sincerely,

Andrew Katkin

NET Web Manager and e-Activist Coordinator

HIn this post :
1. ACTION ALERT! Help insure the safety of Ecuadorian Activists
2. PRESS RELEASE : Contraversial Citigroup-Backed Oil Pipeline
Construction Blockaded in Ecuadorian Cloud Forest Reserve Oct 12, 2001
3. Background on OCP and Citi

For Pictures of the Blockade see :
http://www.ran.org/news/newsitem.php?id=435&area=home


ECUADORIAN ACTIVISTS BLOCKADE OCP PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION

PHONE CALLS NEEDED TO INSURE THEIR SAFETY AND CANCEL THE PROJECT


Beginning October 11, 2001 dozens of women, many accompanied by their
children, began to peacefully blockade construction of the OCP
pipeline through the Mindo-Nambillo Cloud Forest in Ecuador. After
months of exhausting legal options to reroute this environmentally
disastrous pipeline, local activists have escalated their attempts to
save this world renowned cloud forest. The activists from Accion
Ecologica and local impacted communities have placed their bodies in
the path of destruction and say they will maintain a resistance camp
in order to call international attention to their defense of
endangered species and ecosystems. German Bank, West LB, is the
financial advisor to the project. Citigroup is the primary backer of
OCP consortium member, Argentinean oil company Perez Companc.  Perez
Compac and Citi are already set up to benefit from the new oil boom
which the pipeline will facilitate since Perez owns drilling rights
to two controversial drilling blocks within Yasuni National Park.  
Oil exploration in these fragile areas is set to begin any time.

TAKE ACTION!

CALL Citi's investor relations :
1-888-250-3985 and dial 0 until you reach a human operator
Tell them to use their influence to halt this destructive project and
to stop funding destructive activities such as fossil fuel
development and logging.

CALL/FAX the Ecuadorian Embassy in DC :
Tel. 202-2347200 Fax 202-667-3482
Let them know that the world is watching to insure that these
activists are allowed to voice their dissent in safety. Tell them
that you are a potential eco-tourist who doesn't want to see
Ecuador's spectacular forest reserves like the Mindo-Nambillo Cloud
Forest threatened by the OCP pipeline.

Call the NY offices of German bank West LB at 212-852-6000  
Tell them to cancel the project and redirect their investments
towards renewable energy development that will help the people of
Ecuador without threatening biological and cultural diversity.

ORGANIZE SOLIDARITY DEMONSTRATIONS at you local Ecuadorian consulate.
The locations of all Ecuadorian consulates in North America are at
http://www.ecuador.org/visa.html#ConsulatesofEcuador

For a full background info on OCP and oil development's destructive
legacy in Ecuador See Amazon Watch's Report "The New Heavy Crude
Pipeline in Ecuador: Fueling a Second Oil Boom in the Amazon" at
www.amazonwatch.org

For more resources and assistance in organize against Citigroup in
your community check out  www.ran.org or contact Rainforest Action
Network at 1-800-989-RAIN or email organize@ran.org


*********
#2

For Immediate Release: October 12, 2001

Contacts: In US:
Ilyse Hogue, Rainforest Action Network: 415-398-4404,
Janet Lloyd, Amazon Watch: 310-455-0617

In Ecuador:
Alexandra Almeida, Acción Ecológica  011 593 22 547-516 or
527-583

CONTROVERSIAL PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION BLOCKADED IN ECUADORIAN CLOUD
FOREST RESERVE

Local Women and Children Protest Citigroup-Backed Project

(Guarumos, Ecuador) – Ecuadorian groups announced that dozens of
women and children yesterday began a  peaceful blockade of OCP
Consortium machinery as it attempted to clear protected forests to
build Ecuador's new heavy crude pipeline. The building of the
pipeline along its current route, funded in part by Citigroup, will
devastate 11 protected forest areas and lead to the doubling of oil
production from National Parks and other protected areas in the
Ecuadorian Amazon and have a devastating impact on local communities.
Digital photos and background info available upon request or at:  
www.ran.org

As of 4 pm EST, an estimated 40 people from local communities
affected by the pipeline were participating in the successful
blockade. "The blockade has virtually stopped the crews from
destroying this globally significant cloud forest reserve," said
environmental group Acción Ecológica, noting that a resistance camp
will be maintained in Los Guarumos region on the Non-Tandapaya Road,
an approximately 2 hour drive from Quito.

Opposition to the construction of Ecuador's new Heavy Crude Oil
Pipeline (OCP) has captured international headlines.  Unsuccessful in
their attempts to use legal channels to change the planned route of
the pipeline, environmental groups have put pressure on investment
companies responsible for the financial backing behind the pipeline.  
In particular, Westdeustche Landesbank (WestLB), Germany's largest
bank and Citigroup have been pressured by activists to use their
financial influence to alter the route of the pipeline and guarantee
protection of Yasuni National Park, an environmentally critical
forest area planned to be drilled for short-term oil profits.  WestLB
has arranged a $900 million financing package for the OCP consortium
and Citigroup is the financial backer of primary consortium member
Perez-Companc, who owns the drilling rights to areas within Yasuni
National Park.

The pipeline consortium also includes Techint, Alberta Energy, Repsol-
YPF, AGIP, Kerr-McGee and the Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum,
already the subject of protest campaigns for their controversial oil
projects in Colombia.

Environmental and public health problems with pipeline spills in
Ecuador are ongoing. In May, the country's existing pipeline ruptured
due to a landslide, spilling 7,000 barrels of oil. This accident was
the 14th major oil spill since 1998.  The Mindo area includes steep
and unstable slopes where there is a high risk of oil spills.

The Mindo inhabitants want to focus international attention on their
stance in defense of endangered species and globally important
ecosystems.  They urge U.S. energy users to support a more rapid
transition to clean energy alternatives given that half of the oil
from the OCP pipeline will be destined for West Coast US markets.

Citigroup is the subject on an ongoing campaign for funding
controversial fossil fuel and logging projects in endangered
ecosystems. In addition to their participation in OCP, they have
leadership roles in the Camisea project in Peru, the Chad-Cameroon
pipeline in Africa, and the PetroZuata project in the Orinoco Delta
in Venezuela.


                           # # #

***********

#3
CITIGROUP FUNDS PROPOSED ECUADORIAN PIPELINE
WHICH THREATENS FRAGILE ECOSYSTEMS AND COMMUNITIES

To See RAN's case study on Citigroup and OCP check out :
http://www.ran.org/ran_campaigns/citigroup/cs_ocp.html


Ignoring the devastating toll thirty years of reckless oil
development has taken on the country of Ecuador - particularly on the
Amazon and its people - the government and a consortium of
multinational oil companies are poised to make the same irreversible
mistake by moving ahead with a controversial new oil pipeline project
known as the OCP (Oleoducto de Crudo Pesado).   Among the
consortium's main funders is Citigroup - the world's most destructive
bank.  As the number one funder of oil pipelines around the
world it is no surprise to find Citi playing a central role with yet
another massive, destructive fossil fuel project.

Financially backed by Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, and Deutsche
Bank, the OCP consortium is comprised of Alberta Energy (Canada),
Kerr McGee (USA), Occidental Petroleum (USA) - notorious for their
invasion of the U'wa people's land in Colombia, AGIP (Italy), Perez
Companc (Argentina), Repsol-YPF (Spain) and Techint (Argentina).  The
pipeline would transport heavy crude from the country's eastern
rainforest region to the Pacific Coast, placing fragile ecosystems
and dozens of communities along the 300-mile route in jeopardy.

The pipeline route chosen by the OCP consortium affects 11 protected
areas, and cuts through the middle of the Mindo Nambillo Cloudforest
Reserve and the surrounding ecologically sensitive forests.  This
area is home to more than 450 species of birds---46 of which are
threatened by extinction --and has been designated the
first  "Important Bird Area" of South America by Birdlife
International.  The pipeline also represents a threat to the area's
burgeoning eco-tourism industry, which is expected to bring in $600
million over the next 20 years.

In order to fill the new pipeline, Ecuador would have to double its
current oil production, setting off an unprecedented boom in new oil
exploration that could lead to the irreversible loss and destruction
of some the country 's last remaining old growth rainforest and
territories of isolated indigenous peoples.  Hundreds of new oil
wells and flow lines would be built from existing oil concessions
along with facilities necessary to process and refine the heavy crude
for transport across the country.  These activities threaten
protected areas such as Yasuni National Park, Cuyabeno Wildlife
Reserve, and the Limoncocha and Panacocha Biological Reserves.  This
project would also fuel the search for additional oil reserves
covering 2.4 million hectares of frontier forest, the majority of
which falls on the ancestral territories of Achuar, Shuar, Huaorani,
Quichua, Shiwiar, and Zapara indigenous communities.  Many of these
communities have vowed to never permit oil development on their land.

Prominent Ecuadorian and international environmental and human rights
organizations are calling for the cancellation of the OCP project and
a moratorium on all new oil exploration in the country's Amazon
region.  CONAIE, the powerful national indigenous organization whose
non-violent uprisings have led to the ousting of two presidents in
the last five years, is joining environmental groups and local
communities in filing for a legal injunction in the coming weeks to
void the OCP contract with the government.

The Ecuadorian government, the OCP consortium, and the financiers have
failed to fully assess or disclose the long-term impacts of the new
OCP pipeline on ecologically and culturally sensitive areas in the
Amazon region or the coast.  The government squashed all public
debate on these concerns by closing the public review process a mere
three weeks after the release of the 1,500-page Environmental Impact
Assessment and fast tracking licensing.

Ecuador's oil exports are primarily destined for consumption in the
United States, particularly in California.  Not only does this
pipeline threaten fragile areas and local communities, it further
increases our reliance on oil - the main fossil fuel responsible for
climate change.  We must call on the involved financial institutions
to stop bankrolling destruction of the Amazon and environmental
injustice and urge them to invest in renewable energy alternatives -
not Amazon crude!

EarthNet News
...a project of the Center for Environmental Citizenship

October 15, 2001  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This week in EarthNet, take action to save the North Pacific Gray Whale
population from Exxon and exxtinction AND tell Congress to keep hands off of
the Tongass Forest in Alaska.  And make your good deeds count five times over
-- by forwarding this newsletter to five of your friends, family or coworkers.

--Susie Gorden, EarthNet Editor
mailto:earthnet@envirocitizen.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Shadow Congress:  Hands Off the Tongass
2. Corporate Corner: Whales Exxploited
3. Quote of the Week
4. Environmental Impacts of War: Kuwait
5. Jobs, Conferences and Gatherings
6. Activist Phone Book & EarthNet News Info

SHADOW CONGRESS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
TIMBER!   The world’s largest remaining temperate rainforest is in deep peril.
Alaska's Tongass National Forest is America's last great rainforest, and timber
companies are on track to log it.  Recently, the U.S. Forest Service has
abandoned its pro-conservation stance and is reverting back to the bad old days
-- allowing timber companies to call all the shots. But the Forest Service is
taking comments through next Monday, October 22.  Last comment period, they
received more than two million letters from activists like us telling them to
keep the Roadless Rule intact.  We can make a difference again.

TAKE ACTION NOW:  Urge the Forest Service to maintain the pristine Tongass
National Forest, using the EarthNet Action Center at
http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.nrdc.org/land/forests/roadless.asp;
http://www.roadless.fs.fed.us/; http://www.savebiogems.org/tongass/


CORPORATE CORNER
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exxon is starting a new oil exploration project off Sakhalin Island. (For those
who don't know their geography, that's in the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia.) Exxon
is thrilled, but for the whale population close by, the project is a death
sentence.

The Western North Pacific Gray Whale population is rapidly declining and is on
the critically endangered species list of the International Conservation of
Nature IUCN.  Unfortunately, Exxon chooses not to heed conservation warnings,
including the strong recommendations of the International Whaling Commission
and the Science Committee to let the population stabilize. Instead, Exxon has
begun a seismic exploration project that will drive the whales away from their
feeding grounds (imagine if someone started to drill for oil in your
backyard!). Without your help, any chance of recovery this breeding season will
not be possible and these peaceful creatures may eventually be driven to
"exxtinction."

TAKE ACTION NOW:  Tell Exxon to get real and get out of Sakhalin Island with
the EarthNet Action Center at http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet.

FOR MORE INFO: http://www.stopwhalekill.org/newsadvisory.html;
http://www.igc.org/bcc-west/sakhalin.html;
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/save/alerts/exxon-whales.htm

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I appreciate the sound of a chain saw. To hear a chain saw in the distance as
I'm hiking along on a trail warms my heart …The sound of a chain saw means
progress. It means that man and nature are interacting in a mutually beneficial
way."
-- Adena Cook, Public Lands Director, BlueRibbon Coalition, March 2001,
BlueRibbon Magazine

Got something to say?  Send your letters to mailto:earthnet@envirocitizen.org
We reserve the right to edit for length, clarity, and purpose.


ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF WAR
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We continue our look at the environmental impacts of war, this week focusing on
Kuwait.

The Gulf War:  Fires of Kuwait
On November 6, 1991, people in Kuwait held a celebration. The last of 613 oil
well fires, remnants of a disastrous war with Iraq, had finally been
extinguished. But even a decade after the war, the country still has a long way
to go towards repairing the destruction.

After World War II, oil became the key to Kuwait's wealth - suitably dubbed
"the black gold." But since Iraqi troops set fire to Kuwait's oil wells --
reportedly as a retaliatory measure against its violation of OPEC's production
limits -- oil has turned the thriving welfare state into an environmental
catastrophe.

Many of us remember watching images of the oil blaze burning for days on end.
We may have described the spectacle as hell on earth. Among other
repercussions, an incredible plume of smoke and soot plunged the country into
darkness. According to Green Cross International, 10 million barrels of oil
slowly spilled into the Gulf waters - a death sentence for many types of marine
life. Huge "lakes" of oil coated parts of the desert and seeped into the soil,
contaminating precious resources of fresh and salt ground water.

Today, a visitor to Kuwait might expect to see signs of a prosperous nation
slowly rebuilding its economy. Blackened oil tanks may look like strange
sculptures in the desert. We may also hear the complaints of fishermen who have
no fish to catch, or see people working pumps to rescue any remaining water
from the thick tar.

Will the desert ever recover? International teams are working in Kuwait to
clean up what has been described as one of the biggest oil releases in the
history of the oil industry. 40 billion dollars later, Kuwait is still paying
the price of environmental warfare.


FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.kisr.edu.kw/;
http://www.gci.ch/GreenCrossPrograms/legacy/Kuwait/kuwait7years.html;
http://www.american.edu/ted/KUWAIT.HTM;
http://middleeastwire.com/environment/;

-- Special thanks to CEC intern, Leigh-Anne Havemann, who wrote this report


JOBS AND INTERNSHIPS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
These are a sampling of the over 200 environmental and activist jobs and
internships listed at www.envirocitizen.org/enet/jobs/index.asp!

Camp Courage in Maple Lake, MN seeks an Environmental Education Volunteer
Intern.  Find the job description at
http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/jobs/detail.asp?id=3554

Mountain Trail Outdoor School is looking for Outdoor/Environmental Ed.
Instructors in Hendersonville, NC.  Find the job description at
http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/jobs/detail.asp?id=3552

Center for Biological Diversity is hiring a Staff Attorney in Tucson, AZ. Find
the job description at
http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/jobs/detail.asp?id=3541


CONFERENCES, GATHERINGS AND VIEWINGS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lots more events listed at http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/events/index.asp

WHAT: 2nd Campus Env. Leadership Summit of New England
WHERE:  Brandeis University, Waltham, MA        
WHEN:  November 9, 2001
FOR MORE INFO: http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/events/detail.asp?id=916

WHAT: EARTHSAVE CONFERENCE
WHERE: Evanston, IL             
WHEN:  October 20, 2001
FOR MORE INFO: http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/events/detail.asp?id=933

WHAT: 4th Annual Natural Resources Laws Conference              
WHERE: Chico Hot Springs, MT
WHEN: 11/7/01 - 11/9/01
FOR MORE INFO: http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/events/detail.asp?id=903
        

ACTIVIST PHONE BOOK
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202.224.3121
White House Comment Line: 202.456.1111
EarthNet Action Center: http://congress.nw.dc.us/cec
White House Address: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC 20500
Senate Address: US Senate, Washington, DC 20510
House Address: US House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515
**Look up e-mail addresses in a comprehensive congressional directory at
http://congress.nw.dc.us/cec/congdir.html or http://www.vote-smart.org/ce

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Write your own short articles for submission to EarthNet. We are particularly
interested in articles about student activism on your campus. The email
accounts for EarthNet News are:
For general comments: mailto:earthnet@envirocitizen.org
For article submissions or ideas: mailto:submissions@envirocitizen.org
Submit Jobs/Internships/Volunteer listings at
http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/jobs/add.asp.
Submit Events at http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/events/add.asp.

****************************
* WILD ALERT
* Monday, October 15, 2001
****************************

Dear WildAlert Subscriber,

The Chattahoochee National Forest, a spectacular public wildland
located just 60 miles from Atlanta, is under a growing assault from
all-terrain vehicles.  Now, the Forest Service is deciding the fate of
those vehicles on the Forest, and your comments are needed by October
17th.  Send a message from
http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/?step=2&item=683

BACKGROUND
The Chattahoochee National Forest is located on the fringe of one of
the fastest growing urban centers in the country.  The forest boasts
over 2,000 miles of streams and 19,000 acres of lakes, as well 500
wildlife and fish species, many of them, like the Conasauga Logperch,
found nowhere else in the world.

In the early 1990s, reacting to damage caused by illegal all-terrain
vehicles, the U.S. Forest Service created 15 special route systems
with 130 miles of routes designated specifically for all-terrain
vehicle use.  In 1994, the forest supervisor issued an order
restricting the forest's 1,200 miles roads to 'street legal' vehicles,
i.e., meeting all state and federal regulations necessary to be
registered (tagged).

But in response, several northern Georgia counties within the forest
began issuing tags illegally for all-terrain vehicles, allowing them
to use forest roads without the same requirements required of
automobiles. This confused the Forest Service's efforts to keep their
system roads safe and orderly.  Fortunately in 2000, Georgia's
Department of Revenue instructed the counties to end this illegal
practice.

ILLEGAL TRAILS
The Forest Service has raised other issues concerning the damaged
caused by all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) throughout the forest.  They
estimate that 550 miles of illegal ATV trails have been created on the
forest, which they expect will cost taxpayers one million dollars to
restore.

But we believe these figures are grossly underestimated.  Also, many
of the illegal routes run through federally designated Wilderness
Areas, as well as roadless and recommended wilderness areas.

TAKE ACTION
The Forest Service is collecting public comments to decide the future
of all-terrain vehicle use on the Chattahochee National Forest.  This
comment period ends on October 17 -- your support is critical.  Go to
http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/?step=2&item=683 to tell the
Forest Service to protect the Chattahoochee National Forest from
all-terrain vehicles.  Or tell the them directly:

- Keep all-terrain vehicles on designated "off-road vehicle" routes on
the Chattahoochee, in support of the agency's 1994 decision to
restrict all-terrain vehicle use on system roads.

- Designation of all-terrain vehicle routes should only occur where
the Forest Service can demonstrate that use of the route by
all-terrain vehicles will not cause adverse environmental impacts.

- All-terrain vehicle use should be prohibited unless adequate
monitoring and enforcement of the use and its impacts are fully
implemented.

- All-terrain vehicle use should be prohibited in legislatively or
administratively proposed wilderness areas, inventoried roadless
areas, and other areas with roadless values, except on roads for which
their use has been formally designated.

Send your comments directly to:

ATV Policy Development
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest
1755 Cleveland Highway, Gainesville, GA 30501
ATTN: Tom Fearrington
EMAIL: atvissue@yahoo.com
Comments accepted by phone at: (770) 297-3000


***************************************************************
For a full list of Action Items, visit
http://www.wilderness.org/whatcan/takeaction.htm

***************************************************************
An archive of past Wildalerts can be found at
http://www.wilderness.org/wildalert/wildalerts.htm

***************************************************************
WildAlert is an email action alert system brought to you by The
Wilderness Society to keep you apprised of threats to our wildlands --
in the field and in Washington.  WildAlert messages include updates
along with clear, concise actions you can take to protect America's
last wild places.  You are welcome to forward Wildalerts to all those
interested in saving America's wildlands.

FEEDBACK: If you need to get in contact with the owner of the list,
(if you have trouble unsubscribing, or have questions about the list
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TO SUBSCRIBE: If you have been forwarded this message and would like
to subscribe to the list, visit
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is a member of a TWS mailing list. To unsubscribe, send an email to
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Or visit the TWS unsubscribe page at:
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Founded in 1935, The Wilderness Society works to protect America's
wilderness and to develop a nation-wide network of wild lands through
public education, scientific analysis and advocacy.  Our goal is to
ensure that future generations will enjoy the clean air and water,
wildlife, beauty and opportunities for recreation and renewal that
pristine forests, rivers, deserts and mountains provide. To take
action on behalf of wildlands today, visit our website at
http://www.wilderness.org