home of the wildlife conservation environmental and freedom activist

Natural Resources Defense Council's

CALIFORNIA ACTIVIST NETWORK ACTION ALERT

NRDC's California Activist Network was formed to mobilize and provide
action tools to Californians and others concerned with protecting the
state's extraordinary wealth of natural treasures and the health of
its citizens.

June 3, 2002
========================================
In This Issue:

--Action alerts--

1. Speak out to protect California's sand dunes from off-road vehicle
damage

2. Keep California's waters free of genetically engineered
"frankenfish"

3. Tell state officials to adopt strong new air quality standards
that could save thousands of lives

======================================================
You will also find these alerts in NRDC'S Earth Action Center, which
includes tools for taking action easily online, at
http://www.nrdc.org/action

(Please do not reply to this message; see the instructions below for
how to unsubscribe or contact NRDC with questions or comments.)

=============
Action alerts
=============

1. Speak out to protect California's sand dunes from off-road vehicle
damage

The Algodones Dunes are among the many natural wonders of the
California Desert. These 300-foot dunes are home to thousand-year-old
ironwood trees, sensitive animal species -- including the threatened
desert tortoise and the Western burrowing owl -- and cultural and
historic resources. About 50,000 acres of these scenic and fragile
dunes are currently open to off-road vehicles, which can threaten
public safety as well as the environment. On holiday weekends,
hundreds of thousands of ORVs swarm the dunes, polluting the air,
imperiling wildlife and shattering the area's peace and quiet. Riders
can also harm each other as well as the ecosystem:  Last Thanksgiving
200,000 off-road riders descended on the dunes and, despite the
abundant presence of rangers (many of whom came from other areas,
which were then left unprotected), one homicide, two stabbings, two
fatal accidents, and multiple other incidents occurred.

But instead of focusing on trying to minimize harm and danger in this
area, the Bureau of Land Management has proposed opening *another*
50,000 acres to ORVs. These acres are currently closed pursuant to an
agreement the BLM reached with environmental and ORV organizations
during the Clinton administration to protect the endangered and
threatened species that inhabit them. This proposed rollback is but
the latest illustration of the Bush administration's eagerness to
further the interests of industry at the expense of the public's
lands and resources.

The BLM is accepting public comments on its proposal through June
28th.

== What to do ==
Send a message to the BLM, before the June 28th comment deadline,
urging it to abandon its proposal to open the currently closed dunes
to ORVs and to make the current closure permanent.

== Contact information ==
You can send a message to the BLM directly from NRDC's Earth Action
Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action/. Or use the contact information
and sample letter below to send your own message, and please include
your own reasons why protecting these fragile dune ecosystems from
ORV abuse is important to you.

Bureau of Land Management
Att'n: Jim Komatinsky, Community Planner
El Centro Field Office
1661 South 4th Street
El Centro, CA 92243
Fax:  760-337-4490
Email:  caisd@ca.blm.gov

== Sample letter ==

Subject:  Don't expand ORV use in Algodones Dunes

Dear Mr. Komatinsky,

I urge the Bureau of Land Management to abandon its proposal to
expand off-road vehicle use in the magnificent Algodones Dunes. The
dunes are a unique and fragile ecosystem, and opening the area that
is currently closed to ORV use would result in unnecessary harm to
imperiled species, air quality and human safety. Opening the
now-closed area would also undo a balanced, court-approved compromise
agreed to by ORV organizations as well as environmentalists.

ORV users currently have access to approximately 50,000 acres of
these dunes, while another 50,000 acres are closed to them. The BLM
presently lacks the personnel to adequately patrol and protect the
area now open, particularly on holidays when hundreds of thousands of
people turn out to ride roughshod over this unique area. As a result,
other publicly-owned lands also are put at risk, as rangers must be
brought in from other areas to supplement BLM's inadequate staff
during these periods of high use. Increasing the acreage open to ORVs
would only exacerbate the problem.  

I urge the BLM to live up to its responsibility to protect these
fragile and magnificent dunes from unnecessary harm. Keep the present
compromise in place, leaving one-half of the dunes open to ORVs and
one-half as a refuge from them.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]

2. Keep California's waters free of genetically engineered
"frankenfish"

Researchers have created more than 35 different genetically
engineered marine creatures, from salmon to oysters. Many of these
species are designed to grow faster and stronger than their native
counterparts, including those created by combining DNA from different
species into one fish.

While we have literally millions of years of experience with our
native wildlife, we have only the briefest experience with
genetically engineered fish. These fish can pose health risks to
consumers, and they pose significant risks to California's wild
ecosystems by outcompeting native fish. The National Academy of
Sciences found that the FDA's current approval process is inadequate
to evaluate ecological risks posed by genetically engineered plants
-- and the system is even poorer for animals.

Right now the FDA is debating whether or not to approve a genetically
engineered fast-growing salmon, and could announce its decision by
the end of the year. Big industries, such as Monsanto, are eager to
rush these fish into production, but a proposed bill in the
California legislature, SB 1525, would prohibit genetically
engineered fish in California. The bill was approved by the state
Senate in late May and is now before the Assembly.

== What to do ==
If you live in California, contact your assemblymember and urge
her/him to support SB 1525.

== Contact information ==
You can send a message to your assemblymember directly from NRDC's
Earth Action Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action/.

3. Tell state officials to adopt strong new air quality standards
that could save thousands of lives

Particulate air pollution -- visible and microscopic particles of
diesel soot, road dust, wood smoke and other pollutants that become
suspended in the air and can lodge in the lungs -- represents the
most significant environmental health threat facing California and
the nation. Studies show that particulate pollution contributes to
increased asthma emergencies, bronchitis, various cardiopulmonary
illnesses, cancer, heart disease and premature death. Infants,
children, the elderly, and those with pre-existing heart or lung
conditions are especially susceptible to particulates' harmful
effects.

California's air quality standards for particulate matter are now 20
years old, and the staff of the California Air Resources Board has
proposed dramatically strengthening the standards under the
Children's Environmental Health Protection Act. Adopting the new
standards could potentially save the lives and improve the health of
thousands of California's most vulnerable citizens:  the new
standards would result in an estimated 6,500 fewer premature deaths
per year, and another 6,000 fewer annual hospitalizations for asthma,
pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cardiovascular
disease. Health and environmental organizations strongly support the
new stronger standards, but a large number of industry groups oppose
the proposed changes.  

The board will be voting on the proposed new standards at its June
20th meeting, and is accepting public comments until noon on June
19th.

== What to do ==
Send a message before the June 19th comment deadline urging the board
to adopt the proposed new particulate standards.

== Background information ==
Particulate Pollution FAQ
http://www.nrdc.org/air/pollution/qbreath.asp

== Contact information ==
You can send a message to the chair of the California Air Resources
Board directly from NRDC's Earth Action Center at
http://www.nrdc.org/action/. Or use the contact information and
sample letter below to send your own message, and please include your
own reasons why reducing particulate pollution in the air you breathe
is important to you.

Alan C. Lloyd, Ph.D., Chair
California Air Resources Board
1001 "I" Street, 23rd Floor
Sacramento, CA  95814
Fax:  916-322-3928
Email:  aaqspm@listserv.arb.ca.gov

== Sample letter ==

Subject: Support stronger state air quality standards for particulate
matter

Dear Dr. Lloyd,

I support the Air Resources Board's proposal to strengthen air
quality standards for coarse particulate matter and establish new
standards for fine particulate matter. The current particulate
standards do not adequately protect public health.

Hundreds of scientific studies demonstrate that particulate air
pollution, even at levels well below the current standards,
contributes to asthma and other cardiopulmonary illnesses, emergency
room visits, hospitalizations, and premature deaths. Adopting the
proposed standards would help protect the health of infants and
children, the elderly, and people with heart and lung disease.

Thousands of lives are at stake. Again, I urge you to adopt the
particulate standards proposed by the Air Resources Board staff and
endorsed by the Air Quality Advisory Committee. I especially urge you
to retain the "not to be exceeded" form of the standard and to
resist any pressure to weaken the proposed standards in any way.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]

==================================================
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).

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 from the California Activist Network Action Alert, send
an email message to wildcalifornia@nrdcaction.org with REMOVE in the
subject line.

EARTH ACTION is sent biweekly and calls out urgent environmental
issues at the national level and from around the country. 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.

==========
About NRDC
==========

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
New York, NY 10011
212-727-4511 (voice) / 212-727-1773 (fax)
General email: nrdcinfo@nrdc.org
California Activist Network email: wildcalifornia@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

Dear supporter,

If there's one thing most Americans agree on, it's the environment.

The vast majority of Americans support stronger standards to keep pollution out of our air and water.  From the Grand Canyon to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, we support preserving our last wild places as reminders of nature's grandeur and wonder.

Unfortunately, our environmental protections are in jeopardy right now.  Never before has a presidential administration been so willing to hand over the power to weaken our environmental protections to powerful special interests.  Since taking office, the Bush administration has given unprecedented access to industry lobbyists, inviting them to weaken our environmental laws for their own private gain.

The oil, timber, auto, and many other industries are literally rewriting our environmental laws, resulting in more toxic pollution in our air and water, more clear-cutting in our last wild forests, and more drilling in America's wilderness.

If we're going to stop the Bush administration from letting special interests spoil our environment, we need to take action.  Ask your members of Congress to step up their opposition to the Bush administration's environmental agenda -- and to support stronger congressional action to clean up dirty power plants, clean up toxic waste dumps, and preserve our national forests.

Follow the link below to go to a web page where you can e-mail your members of Congress.

http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=10&id4=ES


BACKGROUND

Since taking office, the Bush administration has done much to please corporate interests and almost nothing to grapple with the environmental problems facing most Americans.  The administration is allowing coal, oil, timber, mining, and other industries to weaken an unprecedented number of safeguards for clean air, clean water, and public lands.  Consider the following:

* Despite the clearly documented health and environmental threats posed by coal-fired power plants - such as increased asthma attacks, mercury pollution, global warming pollution, and 30,000 premature deaths every year - the administration is proposing to weaken, not strengthen, clean air standards known as New Source Review.

* The Superfund program has been instrumental in cleaning up the worst toxic waste sites around the country.  The Bush administration has slowed down the pace of cleanups at Superfund sites by more than 50%.  Innocent taxpayers are bearing additional costs of the clean ups, while polluters enjoy a $4 million a day tax holiday.  While taxpayers are paying more, the funds collected from taxes levied on polluting activities to pay for cleanups dwindles.  Superfund had $3.8 billion in surplus in 1995, the last year that the government collected the polluter pays taxes.  In 2003, the Bush administration estimates the surplus will shrink to just $28 million.

* The Bush administration is also actively working to weaken protections for public lands.  They have failed to implement the widely popular Roadless Area Conservation Rule to protect our last wild forests from most logging and road-building.  They have also pushed to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other wild places.

If we're going to stop the administration from letting special interests spoil our environment, we need to take action.  Ask your members of Congress to step up their opposition to the Bush administration's environmental agenda -- and to support stronger congressional action to clean up dirty power plants, clean up toxic waste dumps, and preserve our national forests.

Follow the link below to go to a web page where you can e-mail your members of Congress.

http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=10&id4=ES


Sincerely,

Gene Karpinski
U.S. PIRG Executive Director
http://www.USPIRG.org

XTo: All Activists
From: Steve Holmer
Date: June 3, 2002

Subject: Forest Protection Week Call In Day Tomorrow

Over fifty forest activists from all regions are on the Hill this week,
calling on Congress to protect the National Forests and to stop the
Administration's pro- logging, anti-protection agenda.  You can support
these grassroots activists by calling your Representatives and Senators
tomorrow and all this week echoing the protection messages that are
being delivered on the Hill.

Please call the Capitol Switchboard at 202/224-3121 and ask for your
Representative or Senator.  When you are connected, ask for the staff
person who handles forest issues.  Please urge them to:

1. Be an original sponsor of the Roadless Area Protection Act of 2002.  
If they indicate that they are already signed on, please thank them.

2.  Oppose any expansion of controversial stewardship contracting
authorities that encourage increased and uncontrolled logging.   
Stewardship contracting language which was recently dropped from the
final Farm bill may now reappear as an anti-environmental rider on the
Interior appropriations bill.

3.  Support requiring that 90% of the acres treated by mechanical fuel
reduction be in the wildland/urban interface zone to protect lives and
homes.  The Forest Service has misspent over $800 million dollars
Congress allocated to protect homes by diverting the funds for logging,
unrelated activities and mechanical fuel reduction treatments (logging)
far from communities at risk.

4.  Cosponsor the National Forest Protection and Restoration Act, H.R.
1494 or IN THE SENATE - Ask if the Senator will support the introduction
of the bill in the Senate.  The legislation sponsored by Reps. Cynthia
McKinney (D-GA) and Jim Leach (R-IA) proposes to phase out commercial
logging over a two year period and would redirect $1.3 billion in annual
logging subsidies to fund restoration activities, worker training
programs, and the development of alternative materials.

5.  Support dedicating $10 million of the Forest Service law enforcement
budget specifically for off-road vehicle enforcement.  ORV users
continue to create illegal trails on the National Forests.  Two National
Forests have reported that hundreds of thousands of dollars are needed
to repair the existing damage.  Without adequate enforcement to keep
motorized vehicles on the trails, the costs to restore these lands will
only continue to grow.

Your calls will make a real difference and will be very much appreciated
by your friends and allies walking the halls of Congress this week.  
Please contact me at mailto:wafcdc@americanlands.org or 202/547-9105
with any updates on where your Rep. or Senators stand on these forest
protection issues.  Thanks for all your efforts.

Steve Holmer
Campaign Coordinator
American Lands
726 7th Street SE
Washington, D.C. 20003
202/547-9105
202/547-9213 fax
mailto:wafcdc@americanlands.org
http://www.americanlands.org

Open Discussion on the Treaty Initiative to Share the Genetic Commons"

Dear friends,

During the NGO/CSO Forum for Food Sovereignty in Rome (June 8-13), there
will be an open discussion on the Treaty Initiative To Share The Genetic
Commons.  It will be held on Wednesday, June 12 from 5:30pm - 8:00pm in the
Palazzo dei Congressi: Room 2.

There will be a panel that will discuss the pros and cons the Treaty
Initiative, which is still in the process of being developed, but the panel
will represent all sides of the issue.  There will also be open discussion
with everyone who attends the meeting.  The Treaty is still in the process
of being developed - the text is still in the drafting process - and
therefore it is very important to hear voices with differing opinions at the
meeting.

If you will be in Rome for the Forum for Food Sovereignty, or the World Food
Summit, you are invited and more than welcome to contribute to this open
discussion on the Treaty Initiative To Share The Genetic Commons.

Hoping to see you in Rome -
Best wishes,
Alexia

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alexia Robinson
Director of Operations
Foundation on Economic Trends
1660 L Street, NW  Suite 216
Washington, DC  20036  U.S.A.

Tel: 202-466-2823
Fax: 202-429-9602
Email: arobinson@foet.org

Visit our new website!:
www.foet.org

For Immediate Release:   June 5, 2002
Contact: Steve Holmer, 202/547-9105, wafcdc@americanlands.org

CONGRESS MOVES TO PROTECT WILD FORESTS
Bill Would Reinstate Roadless Area Conservation Rule

Washington DC -- The American Lands Alliance praised lawmakers today for
introducing legislation that would protect wild, roadless forests.  The
introduction will take place at 11 am at the Committee on Science
Hearing room (2318 Rayburn House Office Building).  The bill, the
Roadless Area Protection Act, would codify the Roadless Area
Conservation Rule which bars industrial logging and roadbuilding in
nearly 60 million acres of National Forest lands.  

"The Administration is working aggressively to gut the rule and is
moving forward with destructive timber sales and development projects in
some of the nation's most pristine forests," said Brian Vincent,
California organizer for the American Lands Alliance.  "Today's
legislation is necessary to ensure roadless areas receive protection
from renewed logging and roadbuilding.  American Lands applauds the 173
Representatives who are original sponsors on the bill and Rep. Jay
Inslee and Rep. Sherwood Boehlert for their bi-partisan leadership."

The roadless area conservation rule was approved following years of
scientific study and more than 600 public meetings across the country.  
To date the Forest Service has received over 2.2 million comments
favoring roadless protection.  This outpouring of public response is
almost ten times greater than that of any other rule in American
history.

"Despite such overwhelming support, the Administration has
systematically undermined the Roadless Rule, first by delaying
implementation of the rule then issuing directives that have essentially
dismantled the plan," said Randi Spivak, Executive Director of American
Lands.  "As a result, the Forest Service is preparing destructive
projects in roadless areas throughout the country."

For example, the Forest Service is planning to log 33 roadless areas in
the Tongass National Forest in Alaska.  In California, the Service has
proposed logging or development projects in roadless areas on the Tahoe,
Plumas, and Los Padres National Forests. In Idaho, the agency is
planning to log roadless areas on the Nez Perce and Clearwater National
Forests.  In meetings this week American Lands and grassroots activists
from these threatened areas are calling on the Administration to keep
its promise to uphold the roadless rule and to immediately cancel all
roadless area timber sales and projects.

Steve Holmer
Campaign Coordinator
American Lands
726 7th Street SE
Washington, D.C. 20003
202/547-9105
202/547-9213 fax
mailto:wafcdc@americanlands.org
http://www.americanlands.org

NRDC's EARTH ACTION:
The Bulletin for Environmental Activists

June 5, 2002
========================================
In This Issue:

--Action alerts--

1. TOXIC CHEMICALS: Tell the EPA to ban cancer-causing atrazine

2. PUBLIC LANDS PRESERVATION: Speak out to protect California's sand
dunes from off-road vehicle damage

======================================================
You will also find these alerts in NRDC'S Earth Action Center, which
includes tools for taking action easily online, at
http://www.nrdc.org/action

(Please do not reply to this message; see the instructions below for
how to unsubscribe or contact NRDC with questions or comments.)

=============
Action alerts
=============

1. TOXIC CHEMICALS
Tell the EPA to ban cancer-causing atrazine

Atrazine is the nation's most widely used herbicide, applied
liberally on cornfields by agribusiness and small farmers alike. Some
of the more than 60 million pounds of atrazine applied annually
inevitably makes its way into the water supply, especially during
spring runoff. As a result millions of Americans drink atrazine in
their tap water.

Studies show that atrazine disrupts the production and function of
normal human hormones, and is associated with a higher incidence of
cancer in both humans and laboratory animals. The chemical causes
severe sexual deformities in male frogs exposed at levels commonly
found in rivers, streams, and even rain, and at 30 times lower than
the level the EPA currently allows in drinking water. Just as
alarming, a study at an atrazine manufacturing plant in Louisiana
found that workers there were getting prostate cancer at
three-and-a-half times the region's average rate.

Several European countries have already banned atrazine, but the U.S.
has not followed suit. Instead the EPA permits atrazine levels in
drinking water supplies to average 3 parts per billion over the
course of a year, allowing seasonal spikes far in excess of that
level. As a result more than a million people receive drinking water
from systems that have exceeded the EPA's safety level (which is
probably not safe to begin with).

The EPA is accepting public comments on how to assess atrazine's
risks through July 5th.

== What to do ==
Send a message to the EPA before the July 5th comment deadline,
urging the agency to immediately remove atrazine from the market.
Please include your own reasons why you want the government to
protect you from the dangers of this toxic chemical.

== For background ==
New Studies Confirm Dangers of Atrazine
http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/natrazine.asp

== Contact information ==
You can send a message to EPA Administrator Christie Whitman directly
from NRDC's Earth Action Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action/. Or
use the contact information and sample letter below to send your own
message.

Docket # OPP-34237C
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Pesticide Programs
Information Resources and Services Division (7502C)
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
Fax:  202-501-1450
Email:  opp-docket@epa.gov

== Sample letter ==

Subject:  Re: Docket # OPP-34237C - Ban atrazine now

Dear Administrator Whitman and EPA Staff,

I urge the EPA to remove atrazine from the market as soon as
possible. Studies show that this dangerous chemical causes cancer in
animals, interferes with numerous hormones, and has adverse effects
on reproduction and development. Atrazine-exposed people also have
been shown to have higher rates of breast and blood cancer.

Laboratory studies on frogs exposed to atrazine at a level
one-thirtieth of the EPA's current drinking water standard revealed
that the chemical caused severe sexual deformities. Also, workers in
an atrazine manufacturing facility developed prostate cancer at an
alarmingly high rate.  

As perhaps the most extensively used herbicide in the United States,
atrazine frequently contaminates water bodies, and millions of people
nationwide drink the chemical in their tap water. More than one
million of these people receive their water from suppliers that have
violated the EPA's safety standard for atrazine in drinking water.

I expect the EPA to protect my family and me from public health
threats, and the fact that millions of Americans are consistently
drinking atrazine-laced water certainly qualifies as such a threat.
Again, I urge the EPA to ban atrazine now.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]

2. PUBLIC LANDS PRESERVATION
Speak out to protect California's sand dunes from off-road vehicle
damage

The Algodones Dunes are among the many natural wonders of the
California Desert. These 300-foot dunes are home to thousand-year-old
ironwood trees, sensitive animal species -- including the threatened
desert tortoise and the Western burrowing owl -- and cultural and
historic resources. About 50,000 acres of these scenic and fragile
dunes are currently open to off-road vehicles, which can threaten
public safety as well as the environment. On holiday weekends,
hundreds of thousands of ORVs swarm the dunes, polluting the air,
imperiling wildlife and shattering the area's peace and quiet. Riders
can also harm each other as well as the ecosystem:  Last Thanksgiving
200,000 off-road riders descended on the dunes and, despite the
abundant presence of rangers (many of whom came from other areas,
which were then left unprotected), one homicide, two stabbings, two
fatal accidents, and multiple other incidents occurred.

But instead of focusing on trying to minimize harm and danger in this
area, the Bureau of Land Management has proposed opening *another*
50,000 acres to ORVs. These acres are currently closed pursuant to an
agreement the BLM reached with environmental and ORV organizations
during the Clinton administration to protect the endangered and
threatened species that inhabit them. This proposed rollback is but
the latest illustration of the Bush administration's eagerness to
further the interests of industry at the expense of the public's
lands and resources.

The BLM is accepting public comments on its proposal through June
28th.

== What to do ==
Send a message to the BLM, before the June 28th comment deadline,
urging it to abandon its proposal to open the currently closed dunes
to ORVs and to make the current closure permanent.

== Contact information ==
You can send a message to the BLM directly from NRDC's Earth Action
Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action/. Or use the contact information
and sample letter below to send your own message, and please include
your own reasons why protecting these fragile dune ecosystems from
ORV abuse is important to you.

Bureau of Land Management
Att'n: Jim Komatinsky, Community Planner
El Centro Field Office
1661 South 4th Street
El Centro, CA 92243
Email:  caisd@ca.blm.gov

== Sample letter ==

Subject:  Don't expand ORV use in Algodones Dunes

Dear Mr. Komatinsky,

I urge the Bureau of Land Management to abandon its proposal to
expand off-road vehicle use in the magnificent Algodones Dunes. The
dunes are a unique and fragile ecosystem, and opening the area that
is currently closed to ORV use would result in unnecessary harm to
imperiled species, air quality and human safety. Opening the
now-closed area would also undo a balanced, court-approved compromise
agreed to by ORV organizations as well as environmentalists.

ORV users currently have access to approximately 50,000 acres of
these dunes, while another 50,000 acres are closed to them. The BLM
presently lacks the personnel to adequately patrol and protect the
area now open, particularly on holidays when hundreds of thousands of
people turn out to ride roughshod over this unique area. As a result,
other publicly-owned lands also are put at risk, as rangers must be
brought in from other areas to supplement BLM's inadequate staff
during these periods of high use. Increasing the acreage open to ORVs
would only exacerbate the problem.  

I urge the BLM to live up to its responsibility to protect these
fragile and magnificent dunes from unnecessary harm. Keep the present
compromise in place, leaving one-half of the dunes open to ORVs and
one-half as a refuge from them.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]

==================================================
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.

==========
About NRDC
==========

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
New York, NY 10011
212-727-4511 (voice) / 212-727-1773 (fax)
General email: nrdcinfo@nrdc.org
Earth Action email: 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

TRADING WILDERNESS ROADSHOW
Globalization's assault on the world's forests
================================
East Coast dates: June 14-18
West Coast dates: July 14-22

A traveling roadshow that highlights the devastating impact of "free
trade" policies on forests and biodiversity will soon be making its way along
the East and West Coasts. The roadshow, initiated by American Lands
Alliance, combines a presentation on global trade and forest issues with the music
of folk singer-songwriter Danny Dolinger, blending an educational program
and lively entertainment. Primary areas of international trade that are
being explored include the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Free Trade Area
of the Americas (FTAA), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with
particular attention to the forests of Canada, Chile, and Ecuador. Each
program also includes an opportunity for sharing information about local
fair trade efforts.

The roadshow is being co-sponsored by Alliance for Responsible Trade,
Citizens Trade Campaign, Northwest Ecosystem Alliance, Pacific
Environment, and Public Citizen, as well as numerous local groups and individuals. To
date, 9 well-received shows have been completed in the Midwest. Below,
you will find the itinerary for the rest of the tour. If you would like to
get more information, such as the venue for a certain city or how to help
with promoting the event in your town, please contact me by e-mail or phone
(listed below). Thank you--

Jason Tockman
American Lands Alliance

===================================

Upcoming scheduled shows:
June 14: New York City
June 15: Philadelphia
June 16: Washington, DC
June 17: Asheville, NC
June 18: Chattanooga, TN
July 14: San Francisco
July 15: Davis, CA
July 17: Eugene, OR
July 18: Portland, OR
July 19: Olympia, WA
July 20: Seattle
July 21: Victoria, BC
July 22: Bellingham, WA

---------------------------------------------
Jason Tockman, Director
International Trade Program
American Lands Alliance
PO Box 555
Athens, OH 45701
(740) 594-5441

Steve Holmer
Campaign Coordinator
American Lands
726 7th Street SE
Washington, D.C. 20003
202/547-9105
202/547-9213 fax
mailto:wafcdc@americanlands.org
http://www.americanlands.org

Below is a quick look at activists achievements, which highlights
some of the many species you helped protect.  

*  Jaguars and giant river otters: With only a day's notice,
activists from around the world sent tens of thousands of messages
opposing an attempt by several members of Peru's congress to undermine
a sustainable forestry law in that country.  The motion was defeated
and efforts to safeguard millions of hectares of the richest and
largest tracts of intact tropical rain forest on Earth are back on
track.

*  Polar bears and caribou: In a crucial vote, the U.S. Senate
defeated a proposal to open the pristine Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge to oil drilling. Conservation Action Network activists played a
key role in the victory, by sending more than 50,000 messages to the
Senate before the vote.

*  Blind cave fish and other rare cave species:  Tennessee activists
helped defeat a plan that would have allowed up to 250,000 gallons per
day of sewage effluent to contaminate one of the most biologically
significant caves in eastern North America.

*  Northern spotted owls and bald eagles:  A developer withdrew plans
for a huge ski resort in Oregon in one of the most important surviving
wilderness areas in the United States.  This laid to rest a project
that had been in the works for years; Conservation Action Network
activists opposed it during a public comment period in 1998.

*  The pudu, the world's smallest deer:  Conservation Action Network
activists worldwide sent nearly 30,000 messages objecting to
large-scale clear cutting of native forests in Chile, within a
globally outstanding ecoregion that includes some of the world's
oldest trees. The government recently sued the logging company for
environmental damages and a local judge has enjoined the company from
any further logging on its properties.

Of course, we haven't won every battle.  Here are some recent
decisions that didn't go our way:

* Dumping of mining wastes in rivers and streams:  The Bush
administration approved a change in Clean Water Act regulations to
allow the dumping of mining wastes into streams and rivers.  
Conservation Action Network activists spoke out three times in
opposition to this change, which will allow devastating mountaintop
strip mining practices to continue.  Hundreds of miles of Appalachian
streams have already been buried by the dumping of mountaintop mining
wastes in an ecoregion that WWF has identified as being globally
outstanding.  Fortunately, a federal court in West Virginia has ruled
that the new regulations violate the Clean Water Act.  WWF will
continue to oppose this senseless destruction of Appalachian rivers
and streams.

*  National energy policy--running  on empty:  The U.S. House and
Senate passed comprehensive energy bills with major flaws, ignoring
the calls of Conservation Action Network activists and the majority of
Americans for an energy policy that would move the United States to a
sustainable energy future and reduce the carbon dioxide pollution that
causes global warming.  Although the Senate bill, as introduced,
contained a number of progressive initiatives, powerful special
interests such as the automobile manufacturers and extractive
industries joined forces with the administration to derail them.  WWF
will join other conservation groups to ask Congress to go back to the
drawing board and develop a more environmentally sound approach.

*  Mining on public forestland in Oregon:  The Bush administration is
opening nearly 1 million acres of national forestland in Oregon to
prospecting and new mining claims.  Conservation Action Network
activists have pushed hard for safeguards for this area, which
includes some of the most biologically diverse terrain in the U.S.
West, some of the best salmon streams in the lower 48 states, and the
greatest concentration of rare plants of any U.S. national forest.  We
will continue to push for permanent protection of the region's
incredible resources.

Please don't let these temporary setbacks dishearten you.  Your
efforts have made an important difference.  With more activists and
your continued commitment, we can overcome future threats to our
wildlife and wild spaces.  We currently have more than 36,000
activists.  Please encourage your friends to visit the Conservation
Action Network Web site at http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ and to
enroll today.  Please also visit the site and take any pending
actions you haven't already taken.  Thanks again for your help!

______________________________________________________________________
Direct any questions about the WWF Conservation Action Network to
actionquestions@takeaction.worldwildlife.org
______________________________________________________________________
The Conservation Action Network is sponsored by World Wildlife Fund-
US.  Known worldwide by its panda logo, WWF is dedicated to
protecting the world's wildlife and the rich biological diversity
that we all need to survive.  The leading privately supported
international conservation organization in the world, WWF has
sponsored more than 2,000 projects in 116 countries and has more than
1 million members in the United States.  WWF calls on everyone --
government, industry, and individuals -- to take responsibility by
taking action to save our living planet.

World Wildlife Fund
1250 Twenty-fourth Street, NW
Washington, DC  20037
http://www.worldwildlife.org
http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org

1. COMMERCIAL FISHING NEEDLESSLY KILLS SEA LIFE
Did you know that every year, an estimated 20 million tons
of marine wildlife is unintentionally caught and dumped,
mostly dead, back into the ocean? This so-called wasted
"by-catch" is more than 60 times the weight of the empire
state building.

Fast Facts:
·  9 pounds of marine life by-catch is killed for every one
   pound of shrimp caught!
·  Last year, the U.S. government announced that 31 fish
   species in U.S. fisheries are on the brink of commercial
   extinction.
·  On the East Coast, less than two percent of fishing trips
   carry scientific observers required to record data on
   bycatch.

Although bycatch is illegal, the U.S. government has done
little to enforce the laws intended to protect our ocean
life. Last month a House Subcommittee voted to weaken
the nation's principal ocean fish management law. In the next
few weeks, U.S. Congressional committees will vote on bills
to further amend these laws; the outlook is grim for marine life.

You can help! Ask President Bush to enforce existing laws,
including a full investigation of wasted catch, and call on
the National Marine Fisheries Service to protect ocean life.
Sign this FREE petition. Oceana will hand deliver it.

Sign Now!: http://www.care2.com/go/redirect/2/4460

2. ACTIVIST TIPS
** Refuse to buy Shrimp! For every pound of shrimp caught,
nine pounds of fish and marine animals are caught, injured
and thrown back!
** Don't order Chilean Sea Bass- overfishing has threatened
the future existence of the chilean sea bass. Send a message
to your grocer, tell restaurants why they shouldn't serve it,
and tell your friends not to buy it.

3. INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE:

The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder
forever.
--Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1910)

Dear Members of Global Response's "Quick Response Network:"

A great way to get many more people involved in our letter-writing campaigns
is for all of us to send letters to the editors of our local newspapers.
Here's a letter about our current campaign that Global Response board chair
David Pellow wrote to papers in the Boulder-Denver area.  Please tailor this
letter to your local situation and send it in to your local paper. Thanks
for helping us expand the reach of this campaign. -Paula Palmer


"Morgan Stanley Finances Environmental Destruction in Tibet"

International environmental organizations have launched a campaign to
highlight a record of questionable financial dealings in Tibet by the
Morgan Stanley securities firm. Morgan Stanley supports many projects that
raise concerns about human rights and environmental protection. This
campaign matters a great deal to the citizens of Boulder because Lhasa,
Tibet is one of our sister cities, Naropa University's founders are Tibetan
refugees, and many of us (40% of U.S. households) use Discover Cards, one
of Morgan Stanley's financial services.

One project Morgan Stanley supports is China's "Go West Campaign," which
involves, among other things, building oil and gas pipelines to transport
these natural resources from Tibet to eastern China. These deals are part
of China's continued colonization of Tibet, which began with an invasion in
1949. Since then more than 1.2 million Tibetans have died as a result of
persecution, imprisonment, execution, and famine and His Holiness the Dalai
Lama is banned from returning to his homeland.

Under Chinese occupation almost half of Tibet's forests have been logged,
the Tibetan plateau is contaminated from mining and nuclear waste dumping,
and rivers and wildlife have been decimated. Not to be deterred by business
ethics, Morgan Stanley is underwriting gas extraction and pipeline
construction in Tibet as well as a railway project that will facilitate
further exploitation of the region.

Global Response, an international network for environment action and
education, encourages readers to write letters to Morgan Stanley urging them
to adopt more sustainable and humane business policies such as those
proposed by the Tibetan Government in Exile. We also urge you to tell Morgan
Stanley you will not use your  Discover Card until the company adopts appropriate
standards. For more information see
http://www.globalresponse.org
or call 303-444-0306.

********************************
Paula Palmer, Executive Director
Global Response
P.O. Box 7490
Boulder CO 80306
USA
TEL: 303-444-0306
FAX: 303-449-9794
Email: paula@globalresponse.org
Website: http://www.globalresponse.org  

Global Response empowers people of all ages, cultures, and nationalities to
protect the environment by creating partnerships for effective citizen
action.  At the request of indigenous peoples and grassroots organizations,
Global Response organizes international letter-writing campaigns to help
communities prevent environmental destruction.  Global Response involves
young people as well as adults in these campaigns, to develop in them the
skills for global citizen cooperation and earth stewardship.

Rainforest Action Network - Monthly Email Newsletter

June 2002

Welcome!  Thank you for being a partner in Rainforest Action Network’s
campaigns.  Read on to get the latest news and learn how you can help save
the world’s rainforests.

In this post:

1. Support Proposed Indonesian Logging Moratorium
2. Save Pristine Chilean Rainforests From Proposed Aluminum Smelter and
Hydro Project
3. U’wa Celebrate Hard Won Victory
4. George the Dinosaur Pays Schwab Headquarters a Visit
5. Recent Rainforest News

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


WRITE INDONESIAN PRESIDENT MEGAWATI TO ENDORSE HER PROPOSED MORATORIUM ON
LOGGING

On May 13, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri called for a temporary
moratorium on logging in Indonesia in an effort to halt illegal logging and
save what’s left of the country’s remaining forests. According to the World
Bank, Indonesia will lose all of its forests in the next 15 years if the
government does not act quickly and strongly against deforestation
activities.

According to the World Resources Institute, Indonesia has lost forty
percent, or 64 million hectares, of its original forest cover in the last
fifty years. The rate of deforestation is accelerating, from 1 million
hectares destroyed each year in the 1980s to a current 2 million hectares’
loss per year. Indonesia’s lowland forests harbor the country’s highest
biodiversity and timber value. At current rates of forest loss, the region
of Sumatra’s lowland forest will be gone by 2005, and Kalimantan’s lowland
forest will have been devastated by 2010.

Citigroup, North America’s largest financial institution and RAN campaign
target, is a key financial backer of Indonesian rainforest destruction via
palm oil plantations and pulp and paper operations. It is business partners
with Indonesian palm oil company, London Sumatra (Lon Sum), a company that
has been implicated in bulldozing and burning vast areas of forests, as well
as violating the human rights of indigenous peoples. Citigroup is also a top
investor in Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), one of Indonesia’s largest and most
destructive pulp and paper operators.

American consumers also play a central role in the destruction of Indonesian
forests. Major forest products distributors such as Boise, Georgia Pacific,
and Home Depot profit from Indonesian forests’ devastation. Woods such as
lauan and ramin from these forests permeate the American market in the forms
of plywood, tool handles, flooring, and furniture.

Act now to protect Indonesia’s precious biological heritage! Write the
Indonesian president immediately to demonstrate that she has international
support for a moratorium on logging ancient rainforests!

***

You may wish to work from the following sample:

Her Excellency Megawati Sukarnoputri
President, Republic of Indonesia
Presidential Palace
Jakarta Istana Negara, Indonesia
FAX 62-21-345-7782

Dear President Sukarnoputri:

I wish to add my voice to those of many people worldwide who are applauding
your pending decision to a temporary halt of all logging in the rainforests
of Indonesia.

Logging, both legal and illegal, in Indonesia’s remaining primary
rainforests is causing massive extinction and increasing poverty for people
whose subsistence depends on healthy ecosystems.

The logging moratorium will allow your government to address the rights of
indigenous peoples, illegal logging being concealed by fraud in the wood
products industry, and transitions to sustainable economies that are not
dependent on rainforest destruction, including logging, mining and
monoculture plantations.

Please make the just and crucial decision to halt logging in Indonesia’s
natural forests as your lasting legacy to the world's species and future
generations of humanity.

Sincerely,

(Signed)

***

RAN Press Release on Moratorium Announcement
http://www.ran.org/news/newsitem.php?id=540&area=home

Jakarta Post Story
http://www.ran.org/news/newsitem.php?id=541

ENN Story
http://ens-news.com/ens/may2002/2002-05-27-19.asp#anchor2


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


ACT TO PROTECT PATAGONIAN RAINFOREST FROM HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT AND ALUMINUM
SMELTER

The long-term conservation of one of the American continents’ last extensive
temperate coastal rainforests is at stake. Canadian mining giant Noranda,
Inc. is currently working with the Chilean government for permission to
proceed with the Alumysa project, a scheme that involves a massive aluminum
smelter and a highly destructive hydroelectric project in the pristine Aisen
region in Chilean Patagonia.

The proposed $2.7 billion investment would be the largest private investment
in the history of Chile. The physical scale of this industrial project is
far beyond any development that has ever been initiated in Patagonia. The
Chilean government is still considering Noranda’s proposal, and so the time
is right to focus national and international attention on Alumysa.
Otherwise, Noranda will easily be able to push forward with this
ecologically and economically unsustainable project.

Noranda claims it is interested in southern Chile because of the tremendous
potential for electricity generation in the water-rich and steep terrain of
the remote and pristine zone where the Andes meet the sea. The Alumysa
project includes the construction of three hydroelectric centers in three
different watersheds close to Puerto Aisen, which will result in the
drowning of thousands of acres of temperate evergreen rainforest, and
increased road building and habitat fragmentation. There are also grave
concerns about water and air pollution associated with the smelter itself.
Noranda is also undoubtedly attracted to Chile by the country’s cheap labor
and lax environmental enforcement.

Act now to protect Patagonia! Write the President of Chile and Noranda’s CEO
at the addresses below. Also, look for more information and paths to action
on this issue in next month’s printed Action Alert.

Write the Chilean President to ask that he refuse to approve the
environmental impact statement for the Alumysa Project:

Presidente Ricardo Lagos
Palacio de la Moneda
Santiago, Chile
(A standard letter to Chile from the U.S. requires eighty cents postage.)
If you speak Spanish, you may send an email from the Chilean Presidential
website. Go to http://www.presidencia.cl/ and click on “Cartas al
Presidente” to send a letter.


Write the President and Chief Executive Officer of Noranda to demand that he
refrain from bankrolling a project that would immediately be recognized as
inappropriate if attempted in the U.S. or Canada:

David Kerr
President and CEO
Noranda Inc.
P.O. Box 755, BCE Place
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5J 2T3
(A standard letter to Canada from the U.S. requires sixty cents postage.)
Tel: 1 416 982 7111 / Fax: 1 416 982 7423
morphetj@noranda.com



Native Forest Network
http://www.nativeforest.org/home.html

Ancient Forest International
http://www.ancientforests.org/chile.htm


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


OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM LEAVES U’WA LAND

At its annual shareholder meeting May 6, Occidental Petroleum announced
plans to return to the Colombian government its controversial Siriri oil
exploration area (formally known as the Samore block), located on the
traditional territory of the U’wa people. This follows a nearly decade-long
peaceful campaign by the U’wa to halt the oil project.

“This is the news we have been waiting for. Sira, the God of the U’wa has
accompanied the U’wa here in Colombia and our friends around the world who
have supported us in this struggle. Now Sira is responding to us. This is
the result of the work of the U’wa and our friends around the world,” said U
’wa spokesperson Ebaristo Tegria

The U’wa’s campaign to protect their people and land from the violence and
environmental destruction that comes with oil projects in Colombia has
garnered international attention and created an ongoing public relations
liability for Oxy. Peaceful U’wa resistance to the Oxy project has been met
with several episodes of violent repression over the years, in one case
resulting in the death of three indigenous children during a military break
up of peaceful U’wa blockades.

While Oxy’s departure from U’wa land is a welcomed development, the threat
remains that another company could take over the area. In addition,
Repsol-YPF is currently looking to develop the Capachos oil exploration
area, also located on traditional U’wa land.

Meanwhile, Occidental also finds itself center stage in the growing
controversy around the Bush Administration’s military aid proposal to hand
over $98 million of U.S. taxpayers’ money to defend Occidental’s Caño Limon
oil pipeline in Colombia, which runs through traditional U’wa land.

If Congress passes the proposal, this targeted military assistance for the
pipeline will set a dangerous precedent of taxpayers covering private
corporations’ security expenses overseas. Critics say this is a clear case
of corporate welfare. Based on last year’s level of U.S. oil imports from
Caño Limon, taxpayers will be covering Occidental’s security expenses at the
cost of $24 per barrel of oil.

Occidental also finds itself in the spotlight recently with Attorney General
Ashcroft’s indictment of six FARC guerrillas for the 1999 murders of three
Americans working in Colombia with the U’wa people. Among the activists
murdered was Terence Freitas who founded the U’wa Defense Project. Freitas’
family issued a statement in opposition to more military aid to Colombia
(see link below).

Write President Bush and your Representative to demand that they do not
spend your tax money on bloodshed in the name of oil.

Write or call President Bush at:

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
president@whitehouse.gov
(202)456-1111

To find your Representative’s contact information, go to:
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ziptoit.html


Occidental Petroleum to Leave U'wa Land!
http://www.ran.org/news/newsitem.php?id=531&area=oil

U'wa Statement on Occidental Petroleum's Withdrawal from U'wa Land
http://www.ran.org/news/newsitem.php?id=537&area=oil

Alternet: Colombian Tribe Topples Mighty Oil Giant
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13056

Statement from Julie Frietas on U.S. Citizens Killed in Colombia
http://www.ran.org/ran_campaigns/beyond_oil/oxy/terry_julie.html

President Bush Arms Troops to Protect Oil in Columbia
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13056

U’wa Campaign
http://www.ran.org/ran_campaigns/beyond_oil/oxy/


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


RAN ACTIVISTS CONVERGE ON SCHWAB HEADQUARTERS

RAN representatives were thrown out of Charles Schwab’s San Francisco
headquarters on May 23 and 30 when they appeared at lunchtime to request a
meeting with Schwab executives. They had hoped to discuss the company’s
continued purchasing of office paper and office products from Boise,
formerly Boise Cascade.

Schwab has fallen behind other leading organizations including Levi’s
Strauss, L.L. Bean, Patagonia and the University of Notre Dame that recently
severed their business ties with Boise. Boise has come under increasingly
intense public criticism for failing to join more than 400 companies
including Kinko’s, Home Depot and Lowe’s in a pledge to stop selling
products made from endangered, old growth forests.

There exists widespread public support for old growth forest preservation.
According to the Los Angeles Times, 9 out of 10 Americans favor preserving
our remaining wilderness. Last month, a poll by Davis and Hibbits showed
that 70 percent of consumers in traditional timber regions such as Oregon
and Washington favor an end to old growth logging. According to a poll by
Yankelovich, two out of five consumers would boycott a company that
contributed to old growth destruction.

“Protecting the world’s endangered forests has become as American as
baseball and apple pie,” said Michael Brune, Campaigns Director, Rainforest
Action Network. “American consumers no longer tolerate the destruction of
the world’s remaining old growth forests, and that sentiment is dramatically
affecting the market. Boise’s choice is to get out of old growth, or go out
of business.”

The demonstration was led by an activist in a dinosaur costume, evoking RAN’
s charge that Boise, in its refusal to catch up to modern values of forest
protection, is the dinosaur of the logging industry. The dinosaur theme is
central to RAN’s June visits to Portland, Dallas, Atlanta, and Chicago.
Dinosaurs, among them a 120-foot hot air balloon T-Rex, will visit major
Boise customers to request meetings with executives to discuss the
environmental and public image consequences of doing business with Boise.
Specifically, RAN is calling on Boise to end its international old growth
trade, phase out logging operations on U.S. public lands, and embrace the
ecologically and socially responsible principles of the Forest Stewardship
Council (FSC).


Press Release and Photos
http://www.ran.org/news/newsitem.php?id=542&area=home

Giant Dinosaur Balloon on San Francisco Chronicle’s Front Page
http://www.ran.org/news/newsitem.php?id=536&area=home

RAN Old Growth Campaign
http://www.ran.org/ran_campaigns/old_growth/


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


RECENT RAINFOREST NEWS

Logger Influx Felling Pygmy Culture, Lore
http://www.washtimes.com/world/20020530-24387724.htm

Brazilian scientists discover new parrot in Amazon
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/news/0602/01parrot.html

Report: Malaysian leader slams critics of dam projects as traitors
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020601/ap_wo_en_po/ malay
sia_mahathir_rights_groups_1

Saving trees: A Guatemalan success
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/153/nation/Saving_trees_A_Guatemalan_succss+.shtml e


Smuggling threatens Africa's primates
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/3385451.htm.

Demand fuels illegal logging, say activists at U.N. conference
http://www.enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/05/05312002/ap_47408.asp


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


Support these dynamic campaigns.  Donate to Rainforest Action Network.
http://action.ran.org/donate.jsp  


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


Questions or comments? Write ranmembers@ran.org

AOL links:

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tel: 415-398-4404
fax: 415-398-2732
URL: http://www.ran.org/

ETC Geno-type
5 June 2002
www.etcgroup.org

ETC Group announces the release of a new publication, "Food Sovereignty and the World Food Summit -- 27 Modest Proposals."

The full text of the 12-page document is available on the ETC group website, http://www.etcgroup.org/article.asp?newsid=340 .

Food Sovereignty II
Food Sovereignty and the World Food Summit - 27 Modest Proposals

The theme for the NGO/CSO Forum during the World Food Conference in Rome in early June is Food Sovereignty - the rights of small producers to provide and of poor consumers to eat. For the fifth time since it was founded in 1945, FAO is trying to get governments to wake up to their national and global obligation to end food insecurity. Past conferences have bred platitudes without progress. This time, civil society must present a real and measurable agenda - and governments should either put up or shut up.

**************************
* WILD ALERT
* Thursday, June 6, 2002
**************************

The Forest Service has approved logging on 1,200 roadless acres of
Colorado's Routt National Forest.  The logging will not only degrade
these lands, but has little scientific basis to suggest it will  do
anything to achieve it putative goal: control a beetle epidemic.  Even
the US EPA opposes it.  This appears to be the *first* decision in the
nation to permit roadless area logging since the Roadless Area
Conservation Rule was finalized in 2001.  This decision makes a
mockery of Bush Administration claims not to violate the Rule.  Please
tell the Forest Service to cancel its plan:
http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/?step=2&item=1591

PRIME WILD LANDS AT RISK
The Routt National Forest in northwestern Colorado near Steamboat
Springs, includes over 30 unprotected roadless areas, many of which
deserve wilderness protection.  Two of them are the targets of this
logging plan.  The Nipple Peak South Roadless area's 6000 acres
include isolated rocky peaks and large open meadows.  They shelter
1400 elk in summer, among other wildlife. The Forest Service recently
agreed that the area had all the qualities of a wilderness area --
naturalness, roadlessness, and opportunities for solitude and
primitive recreation.

To the east of Nipple Peak South is the 36,000-acre Dome Peak Area,
with habitats ranging from lush riparian streamsides to sagebrush,
through a mixed conifer and aspen forests, with alpine tundra above
timberline.

A SPECULATIVE, DESTRUCTIVE PROJECT
The Forest Service recently approved logging a combined total of
nearly 1,200 acres -- nearly two square miles -- in these areas.  
Loggers would use helicopters to remove logs so no new roads would be
built.  But a significant swath of forest within these areas will be
leveled. The claimed purpose of the logging is to limit the impact of
beetle epidemics in the area so that future commercial logging may
occur.

There is little science to suggest the logging will do much, if
anything, to repel beetle attacks by helping to strengthen remaining
trees. To the contrary, the extant science indicates that when beetles
populations reach such high levels, there's little human intervention
can do.  What this intervention will without question do, though, is
destroy habitat for such wildlife as marten, goshawk, and boreal owl.  
That led the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conclude that
the "environmentally preferred" method for addressing the beetle
epidemics was no logging at all of the kind approved.  

The Forest Service itself concluded that the chosen course of action
would cause the greatest damage to roadless character.  Virtually the
only comments on the draft proposal in support of such intensive
logging came from out-of-state timber companies.

VIOLATING THE ROADLESS RULE
Logging these two special places would be illegal under the Roadless
Area Conservation Rule of 2001. The rule would only permit logging
that is confined to small-diameter trees and where needed either to
improve imperiled species habitat or to protect forests from
uncharacteristically damaging wildfires.  But the Forest Service
admits that the agency's plan will log large trees, has little benefit
for wildlife, and won't protect the forest from uncharacteristic
wildfires.  This is one of the first projects anywhere in the nation
to so blatantly violate the Roadless Rule since it was adopted.

While the Roadless Rule is not in force due to court action and
Administration opposition, a bill to make the rule law was introduced
this week in Congress.  In addition, top Bush administration officials
have told Congress that roadless areas are special, that such areas
deserve special protection, and that the Forest Service is not logging
in roadless areas in violation of the Roadless Rule ... yet.  Approval
of logging on the Routt National Forest makes a mockery of their
assurances.

SPEAK OUT TO SAVE ROUTT NATIONAL FOREST ROADLESS AREAS
Please tell the Forest Service to cancel this destructive logging
proposal. Send a letter from
http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/?step=2&item=1591 or contact the
Forest Service directly with this message:

   - The Forest Service should cancel its logging plan for the Nipple
Peak South and Dome Peak Roadless Areas on the Routt National Forest.  
These wild forests are far more valuable FOR their wildness than as a
source of logs for timber companies.

   - Logging these roadless areas would violate the Roadless Rule, a
rule I strongly support.  And it would violate top Bush Administration
officials' pledges to the Congress that roadless areas are special,
that such areas deserve special protection, and that the Forest
Service is not logging in roadless areas in violation of the Roadless
Rule.  Logging in these these roadless areas reduces those pledges to
meaninglessness.

   - There is little scientific evidence to justify massive logging in
the roadless areas.  While the Forest Service admits logging will
degrade the wild character of the areas, it also admits that logging
has little chance to slow the beetle epidemics.  That's why the EPA
stated that the "environmentally preferred" course of action was no
logging at all of the type approved.

   - There may be ways to protect high value areas and private
property from a beetle epidemic, but this roadless area logging scheme
isn't among them.

Send your letter to:
Mr. Dale Bosworth, Chief, US Forest Service
201 14th Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20250
Tel: 202-225-1661
FAX:  (202) 205-1765
EMAIL: dbosworth@fs.fed.us

+++++++++++++++++

Draft Letter:

SUBJECT LINE:  Cancel Logging in Routt National Forest Roadless Areas

Dear Chief Bosworth:

I strongly urge you to cancel the Forest Service's plan to log nearly
two square miles of wild forest in the Nipple Peak South and Dome Peak
Roadless Areas on the Routt National Forest.  These wild forests are
far more valuable in their wild state standing forests than as timber.

Logging will damage the roadless character of these two areas,
including one (Nipple Peak South) that the Forest Service recently
recognized as having all the characteristics of a wilderness area.  
Both areas have excellent scenic, wildlife, and recreation values;
logging will damage those values.

There is little scientific evidence to justify massive logging in
these roadless areas and the Forest Service concedes as much even as
it moves forward.  The agency admits logging will degrade the wild
character of the areas.  It also admits that logging to slow the
beetle epidemics is probably futile.  That's why the EPA stated that
the "environmentally preferred" course of action was no logging at all
of the type approved.

In addition, logging these roadless areas would violate the Roadless
Rule, a rule I strongly support.  Top Bush Administration officials -
including you -- have told the Congress that roadless areas are
special, that such areas deserve special protection, and that the
Forest Service is not logging in roadless areas in violation of the
Roadless Rule.  Approval of logging in the Nipple Peak South and Dome
Peak Roadless Areas makes a mockery of such positions and promises
from Administration officials.

Finally, there may be ways to protect high value areas and private
property from a beetle epidemic, but logging in remote wildlands won't
do that.

For all these reasons, please cancel the plan to log nearly two square
miles of wild forest in the Nipple Peak South and Dome Peak Roadless
Areas on the Routt National Forest.  Thank you for your attention to
this important matter.


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Help manatees and other wildlife around the world by pushing for more
funding for two vitally important institutions - the U.S. Agency for
International Development (AID) and the Global Environmental Facility
(GEF).  

AID and GEF programs support a healthy environment around the
globe and empower people to sustainably manage their natural
resources.  For example, a GEF grant is improving management of marine
protected areas and strengthening regional cooperation within the
largest coral reef system in the Atlantic, and helping to protect
species such as the highly endangered West Indian manatee.  Sadly, the
resources of both AID and GEF are far outstripped by the need for
environmental protection funds.   

Your voice carries extra weight because your representative in
Congress serves on the committee that will soon consider how strongly
to back these institutions.  Please act now.

**************************TAKE ACTION NOW! ************************

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OR, BETTER YET, ADD YOUR OWN THOUGHTS AND GREATLY INCREASE YOUR IMPACT

Log in to your Personal Action Center
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If you have any questions or problems with taking action, contact us
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****************************LETTER TEXT******************************

Dear (your representative's name will be inserted here):

I write to urge you to take two steps to support programs in the
fiscal year 2003 Foreign Operations appropriations bill that promote a
healthy environment around the globe and that empower people to
sustainably manage their natural resources:

*  Endorse President Bush's budget request of $177.5 million for the
Global Environmental Facility (GEF).  

*  Provide $295 million for a Conservation Fund for the U.S. Agency
for International Development (AID), $100 million of which would be
earmarked for biodiversity conservation and the remainder for
combating global warming and improving energy conservation.  Last
year, Congress approved such a fund.

GEF is the preeminent international vehicle for channeling public
dollars to combat the most significant global environmental threats
facing Americans and people around the world. It has recently taken on
important new responsibilities, including reducing toxics that
contaminate our fish and other foods.  As a result, its already
inadequate funding is being stretched even thinner.  The other major
GEF donor countries stand ready to commit to higher annual
contributions, but are waiting until the U.S. government contributes
its fair share.

The biodiversity programs funded by AID protect the habitat of
threatened and endangered wildlife around the world, while also
improving the economic and social well-being of local people.  For
example, AID funds are helping loggers in the Brazilian Amazon reduce
the number of non-target trees that are damaged or killed during
logging.  The valuable lessons learned through this pilot project are
about to be disseminated to other logging operations, but cuts in AID
funding have jeopardized this phase of the project.

AID and GEF's conservation programs greatly benefit our country.  A
cleaner global environment helps keep our air and oceans clean.  GEF
facilitates developing countries' compliance with key international
environmental agreements, builds world markets for environmental
technologies and services in which the United States is a leader, and
enhances our environmental leadership globally.  In addition, GEF and
AID funds people to manage their natural resources wisely, which will
pay huge dividends in promoting a more secure and peaceful world.

Please provide GEF and AID with the resources they need to achieve
their critically important conservation missions.

Sincerely,

Your name and address
will be inserted here

***********************END OF LETTER TEXT*********************

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sponsored more than 2,000 projects in 116 countries and has more than
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taking action to save our living planet.

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Costa Rican environmentalists celebrated a decisive victory last month when their country's outgoing government rejected plans to open the lush Caribbean coast to offshore oil drilling. The decision by former Environment Minister Elizabeth Odio ensures the preservation of Talamanca's fragile coral reefs and marine life -- including rare Tucuxi dolphins and endangered sea turtles -- as well as the region's growing ecotourism industry. The ruli