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To: All Activists
From:
Andrew George & Jake Kreilick, National Forest Protection Alliance
Date: June 3, 2003
NEW REPORT IDENTIFIES NATIONAL FORESTS AT GREATEST RISK FROM
BUSH
ADMINISTRATION PRO-LOGGING POLICIES
Dr. E.O. Wilson, Greenpeace and the National Forest
Protection Alliance
Warn of "Endangered
Forests, Endangered Freedoms"
WASHINGTON - A nationwide coalition of environmental groups
released a new
report today that identifies the national
forests at greatest risk from
logging and documents the
Bush Administration's attempts to eliminate public
oversight of environmental laws. Greenpeace and the National
Forest
Protection Alliance (NFPA) released Endangered
Forests, Endangered Freedoms
in response to the
Administration's unprecedented attacks on America's
national forests. Pulitzer Prize-winning author,
Dr. E.O. Wilson of Harvard
University joined the groups
to call for an end to logging in these national
treasures.
"Scientists have reached a deeper understanding of the value
of the National
Forest System that needs to be kept
front and center," said Dr. Wilson.
"They represent a
public trust too valuable to be managed as tree farms for
the production of pulp, paper and lumber. The
time has come to free
national forests from political
partisanship, and to use their treasures to
benefit all
Americans."
Forests were
selected based on several criteria, including water quality,
road construction, the presence of endangered and threatened
species, timber
sale volume and economics, and the
percentage of remaining old-growth and
roadless areas.
Chosen as the 10 most endangered forests were
Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest (Ariz.), Bitterroot
National Forest
(Mont.), Black Hills National Forest
(S.D.), Chequemegan-Nicolet National
Forest (Wis.),
George Washington-Jefferson National Forest (Va.), Kootenai
National Forest (Mont.), Mississippi's National Forests
(Miss.), Plumas
National Forest (Calif.), Tongass
National Forest (Alaska), and Umpqua
National Forest
(Ore.)
"Endangered Forests,
Endangered Freedoms provides the American public with a
detailed and scientific account of the current ecological
state of the
National Forest system," said Jake
Kreilick, Project Coordinator of NFPA.
"By citing direct
evidence of environmental damage in 10 particularly
endangered forests, it paints a grim picture of the Bush
Administration's
mismanagement of our precious public
lands."
The report lists
specific actions taken by the Bush Administration to
achieve its pro-logging agenda, namely:
· limiting the public's right to participate in decisions
affecting their
public lands;
·
using stealthy administrative rule changes to undermine fundamental
environmental laws, such as the National Environmental
Policy Act and the
National Forest Management Act;
· using the threat of wildfires to give timbers companies
access to remote
intact forests for logging;
· dismantling rules that protect forests from roadbuilding
and commercial
development; and
·
turning over large tracts of National Forest land to logging companies
under the guise of "Stewardship Contracting."
"This fight is not just about saving
trees," said John Passacantando,
Executive Director of
Greenpeace. "We are fighting for the principle that
some
places in this country are so special that they
belong
to all Americans. And we are fighting for the right of the people to
have a say in the future of those places."
The report also gave special mention
to Allegheny National Forest (Pa.), the
Medford Bureau
of Land Management District (Ore.) and Sequoia National
Forest (Calif.). Nine other forests were listed
as "threatened:" Cherokee
National Forest
(Tenn.), Clearwater National Forest (Idaho), Idaho Panhandle
National Forest (Idaho), Kaibab National Forest (Ariz.),
Mount Hood National
Forest (Ore.), Monongahela National
Forest (W.Va), Ottawa National Forest
(Mich.), Ouachita
National Forest (Ark./Okla.) and Sumter National Forest
(S.C.).
Speakers at the press conference highlighted an alternative
to Bush's
logging plans, the National Forest Protection
and Restoration Act (H.R.
2169), which would end the
costly practice of taxpayer-subsidized logging in
national forests while providing true relief to areas
threatened by
wildfire. Rep. Leach, a
longtime advocate for protecting the nation's
natural
heritage, is the primary sponsor of the bill, which has gained the
bipartisan support of 90 co-sponsors so far.
In a statement read at the press
conference, Rep. Leach said, "These are the
nations'
forests, enjoyed by, but also entrusted to, all of us. Common
sense dictates that fragile federal land should be
appropriately protected by federal laws, but this report
argues that we are
moving in the opposite
direction. If we are to redeem the future of our
public lands, we must protect what remains of our national
forests."
The National Forest
Protection Alliance, which includes Greenpeace, is a
coalition of 120 grassroots conservation groups from all
over the U.S.
committed to ending the commercial
exploitation of federal public lands,
beginning with the
federal timber sale program. The report's release
coincides with National Forest Protection Lobby Week, in
which activists
from all over the country have come to
Washington, D.C. to pressure Congress
to protect and
restore our national forests. In late June, NFPA and
Greenpeace will be holding an "action camp" in Montana, a
week-long training
on nonviolent tactics and methods of
protecting America's endangered
forests.
CONTACT: Nancy Hwa,
Greenpeace Media Officer, 202-319-2432 (office);
202-413-8521 (cell)
Andrew George,
NFPA, 828-280-6956 (cell); 919-933-2959 (office)
The report is available at www.greenpeaceusa.org.
2003 10 Endangered National Forest
Press Contacts
10 ENDANGERED
NATIONAL FORESTS
Apache-Sitgreaves: Brian Segee-Center for Biological
Diversity (520)
623-5252 Ext. 308
Bitterroot: Larry Campbell-Friends of the Bitterroot (406)
821-3110
Black Hills: Brian Brademeyer-Native Ecosystems
Council (605) 348-8625;
Jeremy Nichols-Biodiversity
Conservation Allinace (307) 742-7978
Chequemegan-Nicolet: Ricardo Jomarron-Habitat Education
Center (608)
294-5930
Kootenai:
Jeff Juel-Ecology Center (406) 728-5733; Matthew Koehler-Native
Forest Network (406) 542-7343
Mississippi: Davis Mounger-Friends of Mississippi Public
Lands (662)
320-6645
Plumas: Chad
Hanson-John Muir Project (530) 273-9290
Tongass: Brian
McNitt-Alaska Rainforest Campaign (907) 747-8292; Laurie
Cooper-Alaksa Coalition (202) 266-0441
Umpqua: Francis Eatherington-Umpqua Watersheds (541)
673-7649
George Washington-Jefferson: Christina
Wulf-Virginia Forest Watch (434)
971-7678
SPECIAL MENTION NATIONAL FORESTS
Allegheny: Jim Kleissler-Allegheny
Defense Project (814) 223-4996
Medford Bureau of Land
Management District: Joseph Vaile-Klamath Siskiyou
Wildlands Center (541) 488-5789
Sequoia National Monument: Ara Marderosian-Sequoia
Forestkeeper (760)
376-4434 or (760) 378-4574
THREATENED NATIONAL FORESTS
Cherokee: Dean Whitworth-Cherokee
Forest Voices (423)-727-7214
Clearwater: Gary
Macfarlane-Friends of the Clearwater (208) 882-9755
Idaho Panhandle: Mike Petersen-The Lands Council (509)
838-4912
Kaibab: Roxanne George-Southwest Forest
Alliance (928) 774-6514
Monongahela: Dave Saville-West
Virginia Highlands Conservancy (304) 284-9548
Mount
Hood: Sandi Scheinberg-BARK (503) 331-0374
Ottawa: Doug
Cornett-North Woods Wilderness Recovery (906) 226-6649
Ouachita: Jerry Williams-Ouachita Watch League (501)
623-1638; Larry
Freilich-Sierra Club (512) 472-9094
Sumter: Kathy McDeed-South Carolina Forest Watch (864)
647-8804
Greenpeace's Positive Energy
May 25
- June 3, 2003
v. 3.20
Positive Energy -- your Greenpeace Clean Energy Now! weekly
update.
Inside this edition:
-ExxonMobil
Busted by Global Warming Crimes Unit;
Shareholders Call
for Clean Energy
-Wind Can Supply 12% of the World's
Electricity by 2020
+++++
ExxonMobil Busted by Global Warming Crimes Unit;
Shareholders Call for Clean Energy
Business at the international
headquarters of the
world's most powerful oil company
ground to a halt
last week as the Greenpeace Global
Warming Crimes
Unit entered the ExxonMobil compound in
Irving,
Texas, and served top executives with a list
of charges against the company. ExxonMobil stands
accused of running a 10-year campaign of
misinformation meant to confuse the public about
the threat of global warming. The Crimes Unit
also found that the company has used its
influence and money to block agreements that would
reduce global warming pollution. Recent figures
show the company gives millions of dollars to
ultra-conservative groups that aggressively lobby
against action to protect our climate and direct
President Bush's extreme energy policies.
The following day, ExxonMobil
shareholders sent a
strong message to the Board of
Directors to support
clean energy and to take action on
global warming.
Two shareholder resolutions
on the subjects
received more than 20% approval from
investors.
To
find out more, go to:
http://www.dontbuyexxonmobil.org
+++++
Study
Shows Wind Can Supply 12% World's
Electricity by 2020
The European Wind Energy Association
(EWEA) and
Greenpeace released "Wind Force 12", a
blueprint
that demonstrates that Europe's current 7
billion
Euro wind energy sector has the potential to
grow to 75 billion Euros annually by 2020. The
study reports that wind power can provide 12 percent
of global electricity by 2020. This enormous
growth in the renewable energy sector would additionally
create 1.79 million new jobs, reduce electricity
costs by 40 percent, and save 10,921 million tons
of carbon dioxide emissions. As countries are striving
to fulfill their Kyoto Protocol commitments, many
are joining the bandwagon of wind energy leaders such
as Germany, Spain and Denmark and reaping the benefits
that renewable energy provides.
In the study's foreword, EU
Commissioner for the
Environment Margot Wallstrom says
that "One of the
tasks we are facing is a profound
transformation of
our energy system over the next few
decades replacing
fossil fuels with renewable energies
and dramatically
increasing energy efficiency. Wind
Force 12 shows
that wind energy is a critical part of
the solution
and should be the basis for forward-looking
policy."
For more information,
please visit:
http://www.ewea.org/
The "Positive Energy" newsletter and our web site,
http://www.cleanenergynow.org, will give you good news
about ways to achieve clean air, climate justice, and
renewable energy solutions to our ongoing energy
crisis.
Help
Greenpeace spread the word. Forward this e-mail on to other caring
individuals.
Want to do
more? Become a Greenpeace member today!
To
give online, go to:
https://www.greenpeaceusa.org/join2/list.htm
IN THIS
ISSUE
1. Mercury Pollution
2.
Don't Pave Our Parks
3. Frederick Douglass Update
4. Thoughts for All Time
1. MERCURY POLLUTION
Help stop a Bush administration plan aimed
at weakening existing protections against mercury pollution. Mercury pollution
is threatening our national parks - jeopardizing human health, contaminating
water, and affecting wildlife.
Fish-consumption advisories have been
posted in areas of Everglades National Park in Florida because of mercury
contamination, and elevated levels of mercury have been found in five bird
species at Big Bend National Park in Texas. All five species are preyed on by
peregrine falcons.
Current regulations would curb power
plants' mercury emissions by as much as 90 percent by 2008, but the Bush
administration is pushing a plan to give the power plants another ten years to
clean up while allowing them to emit as much as three times the mercury.
Take Action >> We need your
help. Urge Congress to eliminate this toxic threat from power plants to help
protect our parks and our communities. http://www.npca.org/takeaction
2. DON'T PAVE OUR PARKS
Colorado Governor
Bill Owens is jumping on the administration's open-door policy for states to
claim ownership of rights-of-way on public lands so that the state can build
roads through some of the most spectacular national parks in Colorado, as well
as national wildlife refuges, and designated wilderness. Owens' administration
recently sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton claiming
rights-of-way in all federally held lands in Colorado, including national parks
such as Dinosaur National Monument, Great Sand Dunes National Monument and
Preserve, and Rocky Mountain National Park.
Take Action>> Whether you live in Colorado or visit
the state's national parks, your voice is crucial. Let Governor Owens know how
his decision to open our precious national parks to extensive road-building
threatens not only the magnificent parks of Colorado, but also the experiences
of the millions of people who visit those parks every year. Send a letter to the
governor urging him to rethink his position and protect the parks, their
resources, and the tourism they bring to the state.
http://www.npca.org/takeaction
3. FREDERICK DOUGLASS UPDATE
Many thanks for
all your work to help protect Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in
Washington, D.C. Your efforts helped to secure increased funding for the park.
Both Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.
(D-Ill.) requested increased funding for the Douglass home. In addition, as a
result of the attention brought to the park by your letters and NPCA's State of
the Parks® report, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Speaker of
the House Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) introduced a resolution in Congress to provide
nearly $1 million in the 2004 budget to help restore Douglass' home.
While NPCA praises
the Republican leadership for their support, we must continue to be vigilant to
ensure that they follow through with this pledge as the appropriations process
moves forward. We also want to encourage Congress to remember the 387 other
sites in the National Park System as they develop the 2004 budget of the
Department of Interior.
Read the
Report>> http://www.npca.org/across_the_nation/park_pulse/douglass/default.asp
4. THOUGHTS FOR ALL TIME
"If there is no struggle, there is
no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and deprecate agitation, are
men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder
and lightning."
Frederick Douglass
Thank you for your time and
dedication to helping enhance and protect our national parks for present and
future generations,
NPCA
Grassroots Staff
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
* National Park Lines is
a publication of the National Parks Conservation Association's Park Action
Network. To learn how you and your friends can become more involved in national
park advocacy, contact our grassroots staff at TakeAction@npca.org. Take action!
Tell your friends! Just go to http://www.npca.org/takeaction
Comments? Suggestions? Tell us how
we can improve. Write TakeAction@npca.org.
Visit us online at http://www.npca.org
********************************
*Your WildAlert for June 4, 2003
********************************
There's much more to forests than trees: such things as
clean drinking water, healthy wildlife populations,
treasured
wild places. As forests decline, so do they.
Eastern forests
are overwhelmingly in private ownership.
And as sprawl
reaches further and further from city
centers, private
landowners face growing pressure to
sell forested land
for development. Eastern communities
working to protect
surrounding forests from development
look increasingly
to the federal Forest Legacy program
that provides critical
funding for just that
purpose.
This month,
the Congress will determine draft funding
levels for
Forest Legacy and other land conservation programs
in
the Fiscal Year 2004 federal budget. Please take a
few
minutes to urge your Senators and Member of Congress
to
support funding of Forest Legacy. You can take immediate
action from http://ga1.org/ct/oda4MzE1v1q9/
********************************
BACKGROUND
Sprawl is by no means an
eastern phenomenon, but its impacts
there are amplified.
Western forests are mainly public
lands and are somewhat
insulated from the reach of sprawl
that challenges wild
places, wildlife, clean air and water,
recreational
opportunities. But in the eastern U.S., 85
percent of
forestland is privately owned.
As our population increases and urban sprawl devours our
landscape, private forestland owners are increasingly
under pressure to sell their property for development.
One of the most important tools we have for protecting
eastern forests from the encroachment of sprawl is the
Forest Legacy program.
Through the Forest Legacy, the federal government provides
states and communities money through matching grants to
protect environmentally important forests from
development,
either through outright purchase or
purchase of development
rights.
POPULAR, AND NOT NEARLY ENOUGH
The program is tremendously popular. Since its inception
in 1990, it has protected hundreds of thousands of acres
from fragmentation and development. Although funding for
Forest Legacy has steadily increased in recent years,
it currently meets only a small fraction of the demand;
requests this year exceeded available funds by $250 million.
The Bush
Administration is proposing to fund Forest Legacy
at
$90.8 million in 2004, which would be a record high
level for the program. Clearly, this reflects the increasing
popularity of the program and is a very welcome step.
But the need demands even more funding. And because of
the intense competition for federal dollars, Congress
needs to hear again and again from us that we want it
to give forest conservation a high priority and to fund
the Forest Legacy program at $150 million in the Fiscal
Year 2004 federal budget.
*********************************
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Urge $150 Million for Forest Legacy
Take action now from: http://ga1.org/ct/oda4MzE1v1q9/
Congress will propose funding levels
for the Forest Legacy
program as early as mid-June.
Please ask your Senators
and Members of Congress to
contact their leadership on
the House and Senate
Interior Appropriations Subcommittees
to secure funding
for the Forest Legacy program at the
level of $150
million for FY 2004.
If you'd prefer to contact your senators and representatives
directly, you may draw from the sample letter below.
Please
act today!
The Forest Legacy program is one of our most effective
tools for protection of diminishing forestlands in the
east. Thank you for helping us ensure its full funding
and thank you for being part of WildAlert, our online
community of wilderness activists!
****************************************
Access contact info for your congressional representative
from:
http://congress.com
and for your Senators from:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear (Senator or Representative):
I write to ask you to support
funding of the Forest Legacy
program at the level of
$150 million for Fiscal Year
2004. I understand that
funding levels will be set as
early as mid-June. I hope
you will contact the Interior
Appropriations
Subcommittee chairman to let him know how
important this
program is to our state and to the eastern
U.S.
The Forest Legacy program enjoys
broad bipartisan support.
It provides matching grants to
states to purchase land
and conservation easements from
willing sellers. It benefits
the public by protecting
such important public values
as scenery, recreational
access, water resources, and
wildlife habitat. It helps
private property owners by
lowering their tax burdens
and allowing them to continue
traditional uses of their
land.
In the east,
where 85 percent of forestlands are privately
held and
where owners face growing pressure to sell their
forests
for development, Forest Legacy is an increasingly
valuable tool in helping communities protect their natural
heritage for future generations.
As more states participate in the
program, funding has
become extremely competitive.
Demand this year nationwide
exceeds current funding by
nearly $250 million. Again,
I urge you to do everything
possible to increase support
for Forest Legacy to $150
million in funding for Fiscal
Year 2004. Thank you very
much.
Sincerely,
(Your name and address)
You can take action on this alert via the web at:
http://ga1.org/campaign/legacy_tws/inbx8bz2jb33
The effectiveness of this campaign
depends in large part
on a good response from others in
your state. Please consider
forwarding our message to
friends and neighbors to increase
the response to this
campaign. Thanks!
http://ga1.org/campaign/legacy_tws/forward/inbx8bz2jb33
We encourage you to take action
by June 20, 2003
Ask Congress to
Fund the Forest Legacy Program
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://ga1.org/campaign/legacy_tws/inbx8bz2jb33
Your letter will be addressed and
sent to:
Eastern States
----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR
NAME----
Dear [decision maker name automatically
inserted here],
I write to ask
you to support funding of the Forest Legacy
program at
the level of $150 million for Fiscal Year
2004. I
understand that funding levels will be set as
early as
mid-June.
Please
contact the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee
chairman to let him know how important this program is
to our state and to the eastern U.S.
The Forest Legacy program enjoys
broad bipartisan support.
It provides matching grants
to states to purchase land
and conservation easements
from willing sellers. It benefits
the public by
protecting such important public values
as scenery,
recreational access, water resources, and
wildlife
habitat. It helps private property owners by
lowering
their tax burdens and allowing them to continue
traditional uses of their land.
In the east, where 85 percent of
forestlands are privately
held and where owners face
growing pressure to sell their
forests for development,
Forest Legacy is an increasingly
valuable tool in
helping communities protect their natural
heritage for
future generations.
As more states participate in the program, funding has
become extremely competitive. Demand this year nationwide
exceeds current funding by nearly $250 million. Again,
I urge you to do everything possible to increase
support
for Forest Legacy to $150 million in funding
for Fiscal
Year 2004.
Thank you very much.
----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----
Sincerely,
cc:
Your Congressperson
--------------------------------------------------
You can sign up for The Wilderness
Society at:
http://ga1.org/wilderness/join.html?r=ipa4MzE1NdatE
Proposed fishing rules threaten the tropical fish,
endangered
Hawaiian monk seals, threatened green sea
turtles, millions
of sea birds, and the over 7,000
species of coral that
call the NWHI Reserve home. Take
action to stop these
new fishing rules.
***************************
Environmental Defense
take action
for the environment...online
***************************
Take action or get more info:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/nwhi2/8857sdrl783t8d
Spread the word - tell your
friends:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/nwhi2/forward/8857sdrl783t8d
Take action by June 7, 2003
FIND OUT MORE:
------------------------------------
* Help Protect Coral Reefs of Northwestern Hawaiian
Islands!
*
The Northwest
Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) are a 1,200-mile
stretch of
islands in the Pacific Ocean and home to over
7,000
species of coral, tropical fish, and marine mammals,
including the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, threatened
green sea turtles, and over 14 million sea birds. They
also hold great cultural significance for Native Hawaiians.
To protect this treasure, the NWHI Reserve was created
in December of 2000 by Presidential Executive Order
after
strong support from the public and thousands of
Environmental
Defense Action Network e-mail activists.
Unfortunately,
the NWHI Reserve is now threatened by
proposed fishing
plans which ignore measures meant to
protect the islands
and their marine life. This
on-going attack on the NWHI
Reserve must be stopped.
Take action! Send a message to
the U.S. Department of
Commerce, which manages the NWHI
Reserve, demanding
compliance with Executive Orders that
protect the
wildlife and cultural heritage of the NWHI
Reserve.
TAKE ACTION:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/nwhi2/8857sdrl783t8d
------------------------------------
RESPOND VIA THE WEB:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/nwhi2/8857sdrl783t8d
Your letter will be sent to:
Dr. Charles Karnella
----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN
YOUR NAME----
Dear [decision maker name automatically
inserted here],
I write to urge
the Secretary of Commerce to enforce the
Executive
Orders that established the Northwestern Hawaiian
Islands (NWHI) Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve. It is time
to bring existing and proposed NWHI Fishery Management
Plans (FMP) and their amendments into compliance with
NWHI Executive Orders (EO) meant to protect these fragile
ecosystems.
Last June, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
rejected Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management
Council
(Wespac) plans to initiate coral harvesting in
the Coral
Reef Reserve because of conflict with the
Executive Orders.
Wespac has
now, at significant taxpayer expense, formulated
over
450 pages of planned amendments to existing FMPs
for
the NWHI. These amendments fail to bring NWHI FMPs
into
compliance with the Executive Orders. These amendments
are also massive volumes of paperwork that waste taxpayer
dollars and ignore existing laws, thereby promoting the
violation of Reserve protections, including permanently
closed areas, fishing limits, and gear restrictions.
Please enforce conservation
measures established by the
Executive Orders, and
ensure that when materials are released
for public
comment, they are - at the very least - consistent
with
existing rules, regulations and protection measures.
Thank you.
----END OF LETTER TO BE
SENT----
Sincerely,
Power
plant pollution is taking an enormous toll on public health and the environment.
But the Bush administration's so-called "Clear Skies Initiative" would do more
for powerful utilities than public health. Despite the name, the proposal
relaxes key provisions of the Clean Air Act, including its mercury protections,
and would worsen global warming.
Earlier this year, thousands of people responded to our
e-mail on this issue in support of cleaner air, but now I need your help
again.
The Clear Skies bill is
expected to come up soon either in a Senate subcommittee or directly on the
Senate floor. Please take a moment to urge your U.S. Senators to oppose the
White House's Clear Skies proposal. Then, ask your family and friends to help by
forwarding this e-mail to them.
To take action, click on this link or paste it into your
web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=9&id4=ES
Nearly
half of all Americans live in places where the air is so polluted that simply
breathing outdoor air can trigger asthma attacks, heart attacks and even death.
This pollution is especially harmful to children, senior citizens and people who
suffer from asthma or other respiratory diseases. Air pollution also causes
major environmental problems, such as mercury contaminating the fish we eat and
carbon dioxide causing global warming.
But thanks to the Clean Air Act, we have some powerful
tools to require the worst industrial polluters - electric power plants - to
reduce emissions.
Unfortunately, instead of enforcing the laws on the books
and requiring dirty power plants to clean up, the Bush administration is letting
electric utilities and coal and oil industries rewrite the rules. The misnamed
"Clear Skies" bill would relax Clean Air Act rules for the dirtiest power
plants, allowing smokestacks to pump 42 million tons more pollution into the
nation's skies between now and 2020. In particular, it promises much more smog,
soot and mercury pollution and unlimited carbon dioxide pollution:
* The Bush administration's
dirty-air plan would allow emissions of smog-forming nitrogen oxides to be 68
percent higher than current law through 2018;
* It would allow more than double the soot-forming SO2
emissions through 2018;
* It
would delay reductions in mercury for 10 years, and even then allow three times
higher emissions than current law; and
* It allows unlimited carbon dioxide emissions - forever.
The dirty-air plan also
eliminates many of the enforcement mechanisms that states have to reduce air
pollution from power plants and other major industrial facilities.
The White House is pressing for
quick action on the proposal, and it could come up for a vote soon in either the
Senate Subcommittee of the Environment and Public Works Committee or directly on
the Senate floor, if the bill's supporters decide they can't pass the bill in
committee. The utilities and industries that stand to gain from this dirty-air
plan, not to mention the White House itself, won't give up easily. But with your
help, we have a good chance at blocking it.
Please take a moment to urge your senators to oppose the
White House's Clear Skies bill, and instead support the current Clean Air Act.
Then, ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this e-mail to them.
To take action, click on this link
or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=9&id4=ES
Sincerely,
Gene Karpinski
U.S. PIRG Executive Director
GeneK@uspirg.org
http://www.USPIRG.org
P.S. Thanks again for
your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your family
and friends.
From:
Matt Howes, National Internet Organizer, ACLU
To: ACLU
Action Network Members
Date: June 5, 2003
1) Speak Out: Flag Amendment
Passes House - Thank or Spank Your Representative
On Tuesday the House narrowly passed the flag desecration
amendment. This amendment would alter the First Amendment for the
first time in its history and allow Congress to outlaw the physical desecration
of the flag. By voting to protect a national symbol at the expense of the
freedoms it represents, the amendment's supporters voted to fundamentally alter
our freedom of speech and our ability to protest the policies of the
government.
It is crucial that you to write your Representative and
thank or spank them for their vote on the flag desecration amendment.
Click here to find out how your
Representative voted and to send a free fax:
http://www.aclu.org/FreeSpeech/FreeSpeech.cfm?ID=12805&c=50
2) Wrong Answer to
Victims' Rights
Just days
after the House voted to amend the Constitution to ban desecration of the
American flag, the Senate is expected to begin considering another unnecessary
and dangerous constitutional amendment. This measure, the so-called Victim's
Rights Amendment, would undermine the foundation of our justice system and the
ability of the courts to operate in an impartial and fair manner. It
would affect everyone ever accused of a crime.
Thanks in large part to faxes and emails from activists
like you, the flag desecration amendment passed the House by only 10
votes (one Member of Congress said he was "papered to death" by the
flood of concerned faxes and emails!). We need to apply similar
pressure in order to stop the so-called Victim's Rights Amendment.
Take Action! Help us stop the
Victims' Rights Amendment in the Senate. Click here for more information and to
send a free fax to your Senators.
http://www.aclu.org/CriminalJustice/CriminalJustice.cfm?ID=9955&c=249
****************************************************************
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Global Response recently became a member organization of
the Amazon Alliance
(www.amazonalliance.org). Another
Alliance member, Rainforest Foundation, is
circulating
an urgent request for letters on behalf of Alliance members in
Brazil. Please read their appeal below, and see the model
letter included at
the end. Many thanks to all who can
lend a hand in this effort. --Paula
Palmer
From
Christine Halvorson, Rainforest Foundation:
June 4, 2003
Dear friends,
I'm writing to you about the
situation in Raposa Serra do Sol in Roraima,
Brazil. Unfortunately, the area has not
yet been ratified as an indigenous
reserve, and signs
coming from the new Brazilian administration are not
positive.
We feel that right now is a critical time in determining
the future of the
Indigenous peoples of Roraima and of
Brazil and are asking that you send a
letter to
Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, requesting him to
ratify RSS once and for all. Feel free to use
the attached sample or write
your own (keep it polite,
as always). Please send a fax or an e-mail as
soon as possible; the Minister of Justice is going to
Roraima on June 11th,
and it would be important for
Lula to receive as many letters as possible
before
then. If you can't do it before the 11th, it is still not too late
please send a letter anyways. Please also
send us a copy of your letter, to
Raposa@wald.org, or
fax to 212 431 9197.
Indigenous peoples had hoped that the new President, Lula,
would promptly
ratify RSS; all it needs, after all, is
his signature. It hasn't happened,
however, and
Indigenous peoples and their allies are quickly losing the hope
they once had in him. This is all the more disappointing
because Lula has
been to RSS and has seen first-hand
the violence and land invasions that
result from not
demarcating the area.
Raposa
Serra do Sol is a huge indigenous territory with biologically
significant Amazon savannah, table-top mountains, and
highly species-rich
mountain forests, lush tropical
rainforest, and critical upper watersheds in
the
uplands around Mt. Roraima. Located in the far north of the Brazilian
Amazon, RSS is home to some fifteen thousand Wapixana,
Macuxi, Taurepang,
Patamona, and Ingaricó Indians.
RSS has also been under grave
attack by cattle ranchers, rice farmers, and
gold and
diamond miners, many of whom are undermining efforts to have the
territory officially ratified by the Brazilian government.
Their presence in
RSS entry has sparked major conflicts
as the Indians defend their land
against destruction –
and themselves against violence from the ranchers'
gunmen. Many Indians have seen their property stolen or
destroyed and have
suffered physical
attacks. Some have died at the hands of hit men and
police. Rice farming has led to damaging chemical runoff
from the fields and
great ecological degradation as
water pollution and erosion reverberate
throughout the
Amazon lowlands. Mining has scarred the region and released
chemicals such as mercury into the environment.
The links between the rights of
Indigenous peoples to their lands and the
environment
are clear. In a state where large-scale development projects
are the norm – such as current plans to build massive
acacia tree
plantations, which would have a devastating
ecological impact – the
demarcation of Indigenous lands
is an important component of sustainable
development. Without full recognition of their
lands, Indigenous peoples
cannot contribute to a vision
for the future of the region in which the
environment
is protected and Indigenous peoples rights are guaranteed.
The Minister of Justice has
scheduled a visit to Roraima on June 11th to
"investigate the situation" -- we are afraid this is but a
thin excuse to
find a way out of ratifying the
demarcation of RSS. It would be an enormous
step
backwards, and a major setback for Brazil's Indigenous movement. It is
an extremely dangerous development.
CIR (Conselho Indígena de Roraima)
is planning a major campaign and
mobilization in
response. They are gathering Indigenous leaders and
community members in Maturuca, a traditional community in
RSS known for it's
spirit of resistance, to coincide
with the Minister's visit. They are also
planning
mobilizations in the state capital of Boa Vista and beyond, and
will be campaigning actively for the full demarcation of
RSS over the coming
weeks.
After years of campaigning, we think this may be the "make
or break" point
for Raposa Serra do Sol, and your help
is truly needed. Please do take a
moment to
send the enclosed sample letter, or to write one of your own.
Thank you!
For more information, please visit:
www.cir.org.br
www.rainforestfoundation.org
www.wald.org/raposa/index4.php3
MODEL LETTER
Luís Inácio Lula da Silva
President of the Federative Republic of Brazil
Fax.: 011 55 61 411 2222
E-mail:
pr@planalto.gov.br
Dear Mr.
President:
As an organization
that is familiar with your political trajectory, we have
followed your first months in office as President of
Brazil. We have been
especially attentive to
human rights and environmental issues, in particular
the demarcation of Indigenous lands, as symbolic of your
commitment to
social justice and sustainable
development.We were very hopeful that your
administration – given the Worker’s Party (PT)’s historic
commitment to
Indigenous rights and in particular the
faith that Indigenous peoples placed
in you – would
make significant progress in respect to the treatment of
Indigenous peoples.
Unfortunately, over the past few months we have seen little
to confirm these
hopes. A case in point is
that of Raposa Serra do Sol (RSS) in Roraima,
which we
have followed closely over the years. We are very concerned with
reports that the Governor of Roraima State, Flamarion
Portela, joined the PT
under the specific condition
that RSS not be ratified. Even the possibility
that this may be the case sets a dangerous precedent: that
your government
is willing to negotiate Indigenous
rights; rights enthroned in Brazil’s own
Constitution.
We understand that the
situation remains extremely tense in the area, as a
result of the Brazilian Government’s failure to ratify
RSS. Indigenous
peoples are the principal
victims of the situation, and that the list of
human
rights violations against them continues to grow. Data collected by
the Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR) indicates that
between 1981 and
1999, 20 Indigenous people were
killed; 21 were seriously assaulted; 54
received death
threats; and another 51 were physically assaulted. Eighty
Indigenous homes were destroyed, and 71 people were held
illegally. In
January of this year, yet another Macuxi
from RSS was killed, most likely on
the order of a
local rancher and politician. His killers are still free.
We understand that you are
familiar with RSS, and have traveled there
yourself at
the invitation of Indigenous leaders calling for the full
demarcation of their land. We are therefore
certain that you have a deep
understanding of the
issues at stake, and the demands of the majority of
Indigenous peoples of the state. Contrary to the
time of your visit to RSS,
today there are no legal
arguments preventing the President of the Republic
from
ratifying the area. We hope you will take advantage of your knowledge
of the situation in RSS, and move ahead with
ratification of the area. All
it needs is
your signature.
Minister of
Justice Márcio Thomaz Bastos is scheduled to visit Roraima June
10 – 13, in order to investigate the situation in the
state. We hope that
his visit will bring
good news to the Indigenous peoples of the state, who
for too long have had their demands gone
unheard. We hope his visit will
bring news
of your administration’s ratification of the area, and its
commitment to human rights and the environment.
Thank you for your consideration
of this matter.
Sincerely,
NAME HERE
Cc:
Márcio Tomáz Bastos
Minister of Justice
Fax: 011 55 61
3226817
E-mail: gabinetemj@mj.gov.br
Celso Amorim
Minister of Foreign Relations
Fax.: 011 55 61 411 6993
E-mail:
celsoamorim@mre.gov.br
Nilmário Miranda
Secretary of
State for Human Rights
Fax: 011 55 61 226 7980 or 011
55 61 223 2260
E-mail: nilmario.miranda@mj.gov.br
HELP STOP EPA FROM EXPANDING THE USE OF POTENT The EPA is once again considering expanding the use
of carbofuran - one of the world’s most potent bird-killing pesticides! And the
public has until June 12th to urge them not to! Carbofuran has been responsible for more avian
deaths than any other pesticide, and EPA has restricted and controlled its use
for years. In 1989, the EPA estimated that 1 to 2 million birds were killed
annually by carbofuran. If EPA were to expand its use of this potent
bird-killing toxin, hundreds of bird species would be put at risk. We need your help to ensure this deadly,
bird-killing poison remains controlled and its uses restricted!
BIRD-KILLING PESTICIDE
Click HERE now to send a letter to EPA urging them to deny
any further use of carbofuran in the U.S!
We
need your immediate support as we go to trial in a case that is critical to
the future of marine mammals on this planet. Three weeks
from now, NRDC
litigators will face off against the
Bush administration in federal court with
the safety of
entire populations of whales and dolphins at risk.
This long-awaited courtroom battle is the culmination of
our eight-year
campaign to stop the U.S. Navy from
illegally deploying its Low Frequency
Active (LFA)
sonar system -- a new technology that blasts ocean habitats with
noise so intense it can maim, deafen and even kill marine
mammals.
I hope you'll go
to
https://www.nrdc.org/joinGive/join/lfa.asp
right now to make an online
emergency contribution in
support of this historic case.
What's at stake? Consider: last year, the Bush
administration issued the Navy a
permit to deploy LFA
sonar over 75 percent of the world's oceans and to harass
or injure up to 12 percent of every single marine mammal
species found anywhere
in this vast expanse of ocean!
But before that disaster could
unfold, your support enabled NRDC to race to
court last
fall and win a dramatic eleventh-our reprieve for thousands of
whales and dolphins. A federal judge blocked global
deployment of the sonar
system until a full trial could
be held and all the evidence heard.
That all-important proceeding will begin on June 30th. It
will determine
whether this dangerous technology is
finally unleashed upon our planet's
oceans -- or
whether it should be permanently blocked until the Navy obeys the
law and demonstrates that LFA would not cause serious harm
to ocean life.
Scientists are
warning that LFA sonar may threaten the very survival of entire
populations of whales, some already teetering on the brink
of extinction. At
close range, the system's shock waves
are so intense they can destroy a whale's
eardrums,
cause its lungs to hemorrhage, and even kill.
Further away, LFA noise can cause permanent hearing loss in
marine mammals
after a single transmission. At 40 miles
away, LFA noise is still so intense it
can disrupt the
mating, feeding, nursing and other essential activities of
marine mammals.
Two years ago, the mere testing of high-intensity Navy
sonar in mid-frequency
range caused a mass stranding of
whales in the Bahamas. Whales from at least
three
different species died, their inner ears bleeding from the explosive
power of the sonar signal.
Just last month, a group of biologists off the coast of
Washington state
witnessed a "stampede" of distressed
marine mammals as a U.S. destroyer,
operating a
powerful mid-frequency sonar system, passed through. Over the next
several days, ten porpoises were discovered stranded on
nearby beaches.
And the
dangers go beyond marine mammals. In preparing for the upcoming trial,
NRDC has uncovered the shocking results of the Navy's own
LFA research on human
scuba divers. One Navy test
subject was exposed to 14 minutes of LFA noise at
160
decibels -- far below the level of 235 decibels at which the actual LFA
system will be operating. The diver experienced
uncontrollable shaking in his
limbs and lapsed into a
seizure-like state that recurred periodically for days.
The Navy's report described him as a "casualty."
The Bush administration wants us
to believe that the impacts of LFA will be
negligible!
Launching a massive acoustic assault on the world's oceans is not
negligible. Threatening communities of whales, dolphins and
humans with injury
and death is not negligible.
The Bush administration's position
on LFA is arrogant, inhumane and, almost
certainly,
illegal. But we cannot stop the deployment of this technological
menace unless we have the financial resources to fight this
courtroom battle to
the very end and win a permanent
ban.
Again, I urge you to help
by going to
https://www.nrdc.org/joinGive/join/lfa.asp
right now and making an online
emergency
contribution.
With your help,
we can make sure that no more whales have to suffer and die
from high-power sonar. Let me know you'll stand with us at
this critical moment
in the fight to protect all ocean
life. Thank you.
Sincerely,
John H. Adams
President
Natural Resources
Defense Council
. . .
BioGems:
Saving Endangered Wild Places
A project of the Natural
Resources Defense Council
http://www.savebiogems.org
To:
Forest Activists
From: The Southern Appalachian Forest
Coalition & American Lands
Date: June 10, 2003
Southern Forests Threatened by
Forest Plan Revisions
PLEASE WRITE THE FOREST SERVICE
AND DEMAND YOUR FAVORITE PLACES ARE
PROTECTED!!
Comment Deadline: July 3, 2003
Currently, the Forest Service is
revising the National Forest Management
Plans for the
Chattahoochee (GA), Jefferson (VA), Cherokee (TN), Sumter (SC)
and Alabama’s five National Forests. The Forest
Service has a unique
opportunity to invest in
recreation, clean water, wildlife, and tourism
through
National Forest Management Plans. The Plans for our Southern
Appalachian National Forests will determine what areas will
be logged, and
what will be protected for the next
10-15 years.
Unfrtunately,
these current draft Plans do little to protect ecosystem,
community, and economic values. Instead they drop key
water, wildlife and
forest protection, allow increased
timber production, and leave some of our
favorite
southern forests open to road building, logging and unchecked
disturbance. The Forest Service won’t make the
necessary changes unless
they hear from you, the
taxpayer and owner of the National Forest.
If you live, work or play in the Chattahoochee (GA),
Jefferson (VA),
Cherokee (TN), Sumter (SC) or in any of
Alabama’s five National Forests, use
the information
below to help formulate original and substantive comments.
Don’t be intimidated by agency jargon. You are
the person the Forest
Service refers to in their motto:
Caring for the Land and SERVING PEOPLE.
Comment Deadline is July 3, 2003
Please take 20 minutes to write a letter to the National
Forest Analysis
team and tell them to protect our safe,
clean drinking water, places to
fish, hunt, hike and
camp, and some of the best fish and wildlife habitat in
the world.
Summary of Problems (more detailed information below):
1. Not enough Wilderness,
2.
Roadless areas left unprotected,
3. Streams, lakes, and
rivers inadequately protected,
4. Old Growth open to
logging,
5. Monitoring program meaningless,
6. Increased logging, and
7.
Inappropriate use of fire.
Send comments to any and all of your favorite National
Forests (same address
for each):
National Forests in Alabama - alabama@fs.fed.us
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest -
Chattahoochee-oconee@fs.fed.us
Cherokee National Forest
- Cherokee@fs.fed.us
Jefferson National Forest -
Jefferson@fs.fed.us
Sumter National Forest -
Sumter@fs.fed.us <mailto:Sumter@fs.fed.us>
Content Analysis Team
P.O. Box
221150
Salt Lake City, Utah 84122
Fax: (801) 517-1015
Comment Suggestions
1. Problem: All five Forest Management Plans
have inadequate Wilderness
recommendations for both
stand-alone and Wilderness additions. (Wilderness
offers the highest degree of Forest protection -
maintaining soil and water
quality, ecological
stability and plant and animal gene pools, and provides
habitat for wildlife and unsurpassed recreational
opportunities.)
Solution: Tell the Forest Service to recommend
Wilderness for all of the
areas that qualify as defined
by the local Forest watch group or wilderness
campaign:
(Wild Alabama, Georgia Forest Watch, Cherokee Forest Voices,
Virginia Wilderness Campaign, or South Carolina Forest
Watch). At the very
least they should
include:
Alabama: Oakey Mountain, Blue Mountain, Brushy
Fork, Rebecca Mountain,
Mayfield Creek, and Bear Bay.
Expansions to the Sipsey Wilderness and the
Cheaha
Wilderness
Chattahoochee: Kelly Ridge, Mountaintown,
Patterson Gap, Rock Gorge, Rabun
Bald, and Three Forks
and extensions to Raven Cliffs, Rich Mountain,
Cohutta,
Blood Mountain, Tray Mountain, Mark Trail, and S. Nantahala.
Cherokee: Flint Mill, Rogers Ridge, Bald Mountain, Devils
Backbone, Iron
Mountain and Slide Hollow.
Jefferson: Brush Mountain, Brush Mountain East, Little
walker Mountain,
Crawfish Valley, Raccoon Branch, Seng
Mountain, Long Spur, Horse Heaven,
Brushy Mountain,
Panther Knob, and Stone Mountain.
Sumter: Rock Gorge
and Bee Cove
Be sure to support the wilderness
recommendations that are already included
in the
plans:
Alabama: Cheaha Addition (partial) (540 acres)
Chattahoochee: Wilderness Additions: Ben Gap, Cedar
Mountain, Duck Branch,
Ellicott Rock Addition, Foster
Branch, Helton Creek, Ken Mountain, Shoal
Branch, Tripp
Branch, and Wilson Cove (total 8,864 acres)
Cherokee:
Upper Bald River, Big Frog Addition, Big Laurel Branch Addition,
Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Addition, Little Frog Addition, and
Sampson Mountain
Addition (20,500 acres).
Jefferson: Garden Mountain (partial), Hunting Camp/Little
Wolf Creek, James
River Addition, Kimberling Creek
Additions (partial), Little Wilson Creek
Additions
(partial), Mountain Lake Additions (partial), Peters Mountain
Additions (partial), Shawver’s Run Addition (partial)
(28,500 acres).
Sumter: Ellicott Rock extension (1,982
acres)
Substantiating
arguments for more Wilderness:
Demand for Wilderness is increasing. The USFS
Southern Forests Resource
Assessment (2001) states
there is a trend toward increasing demand of
recreation
opportunities, and one of the Forest Service’s own Management
Plans says that “participation rates and trends in
Wilderness indicate a
continued increase in visitation,
climbing an estimated 117%”.
The Forest Service inconsistently considered
demand. Some Forest Plans don’
t mention
demand, others inadequately, and still others erroneously. This
flies in the face of what the Regional Headquarters called
for.
Citizens want more
Wilderness! The National Survey on Recreation and the
Environment (2001) found that 69.8% of those surveyed
agreed or strongly
agreed with designating more federal
lands in their state as wilderness, and
over 96% agreed
or strongly agreed with knowing that future generations will
be able to visit and experience wilderness areas.
The Forest Service used a
willy-nilly approach for designating Wilderness.
They
used inadequate roadless evaluations and inadequate and inconsistent
reasons for NOT recommending some qualifying areas.
Many of the Forests didn’t follow
their own rules. Some Plans recognized
the
need for more Wildernesses but then did not recommend any additional
areas.
2. Problem: All five Forest Management Plans
inadequately protect roadless
areas, allowing salvage
logging and temporary roads in some roadless areas.
Many unroaded areas are totally unprotected. (Roadless and
unroaded areas
are some of the last remaining
undeveloped places in our National Forests.
Roadless
areas are over 2500 acres and would eventually be protected under
the Roadless Area Conservation Rule (if it is upheld by the
President).
Unroaded areas are less then 2500 acres and
would not be protected under the
Rule.)
Solution: Tell the
Forest Service to put ALL Roadless and unroaded areas
into protective management. All Roadless and
unroaded areas should be put
into Wilderness
recommendation (1B), Backcountry Non-Motorized (12B or 12C),
or Wild & Scenic River Management. (Numbers
reflect Forest Service jargon.)
Substantiating arguments for protecting Roadless areas:
The public wants Roadless Areas
protected! 97% of the people from the
Southeast who commented on the Roadless Area Conservation
Rule wanted
roadless areas protected.
Roadless areas provide
unparalleled recreation and economic opprotunities.
With more than half of the U.S. population living within a
day’s drive of
our Southern Appalachian National
Forests, these areas provide unique
recreation
opportunities for tourists and locals alike.
All of these areas should be protected under “Regional
Consistency”. Over
the past 20 years, the
nation has lost 2.8 million acres of roadless areas
because of localized Forest Service Management that focuses
on extraction.
The Region stated that it would protect
these areas in the Southern
Appalachians even without
the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. These plans
do not reflect that regional consistency.
Even if all Roadless areas are
protected (either through the plan or the
Roadless
Rule), numerous areas with roadless characteristics will not be
protected. The inventory of Roadless areas was inadequate
because it defined
“Roadless” under arbitrary
rules. The roadless inventories required a core
size of 2500 acres. This core size is
meaningless, not required by law or
regulation and
should not be the standard for protecting roadless values.
3.
Problem: All five of these Management Plans allow logging in the
areas
that protect our water quality. (The
quality of land around rivers, lakes,
streams and
temporary (ephemeral) streams determines the quality of our fish
habitat and drinking water. The drafted
Management Plans fail to protect
our water quality,
diminish the role of ephemeral streams and allow salvage
and “forest health” logging in areas the recommend for
riparian areas.)
Solution: Tell the Forest Service to increase
protection for the areas that
protect our water
quality. They need to increase the size and protection of
all Riparian areas along lakes, rivers and streams, include
ephemeral stream
(streams active in times of high
water) and outline precise provisions
around “Forest
Health” logging so that it does not become a loophole for the
timber industry.
Substantiating arguments for better riparian protection:
Southern Appalachia relies on these lands for clean
drinking water! 2200
communities, serving at
least 10 million people in our region receive their
drinking water from National Forest Lands.
Our Wildlife
suffers. Many of our native trout streams suffer from
excessive sedimentation caused by erosion form logging and
associated
activities.
Scientist show that higher protection is
needed. A University of Georgia
study calls
for greater protection than is found in the draft plans.
4. Problem: The draft
Management Plans provide inadequate protection for
existing Old Growth. (Old Growth areas contain wildlife and
natural
ecosystem resources found nowhere else in the
world. They include those big
old trees,
from 100 to over 400 years old. Many of our Old Growth areas are
yet to be discovered, and although they escaped devastating
logging at the
turn of the 20th Century, if these plans
don’t change they could be ravaged
at the beginning of
the 21st.)
Solution: Tell the Forest Service to protect all
Old Growth stands. Tell
the
Forest Service to establish standards that put all existing Old Growth
found in the future into old growth patches that will
protect the stands.
Substantiating arguments for protecting Old Growth:
These old stable forests are a
temperate rain forest - which accounts for
all of its
diversity. Few people realize it but our region is one of the
most species rich areas outside of the tropics - meaning
that when added
together we have more types of animals
and plants than most others. Many of
our Old
Growth areas account for this diversity.
Few old growth areas were left after the devastating
logging that occurred
at the dawn of the 20th century.
All of these remaining old growth remnants
should be
protected
5.
Problem: All five Forest Management Plans have meaningless Monitoring
Programs with inadequate Management Indicator Species.
(MIS is one of the
main tools the Forest Service uses
to take the temperature of the forest’s
health. The presence or the absence of certain
species should reveal the
consequences of current
forest management on forest health.)
Solution: Tell the Forest Service to fulfill
their obligations under the
current laws and adopt an
adequate MIS program. The Forest Service should
increase the number and quality of their Management
Indicator Species. In
addition, they should
include obvious communities and populations like
plants, aquatic insects, fish and salamanders.
Substantiating arguments for
better MIS:
The Forest Service
is ignoring current regulations. National Forest
Management Act regulations requires each forest to adopt an
adequate MIS
program
The Forest Service relies heavily on bird species as MIS in
the draft plans.
Not only are birds very mobile, but
they are also not reliable or sensitive
indicators of
forest trends.
The Forest
Service only has one fish species (wild trout) in one forest
(Jefferson) as a MIS! This is inadequate to
monitor aquatic health. There
are many sensitive
aquatic species that need to be looked at.
Only one salamander in one forest is a MIS. The
Southern Appalachian Region
is one of the most
significant biological centers of salamanders in the
world. Not only do we have a lot of salamanders,
but many are very
sensitive to forest
health. They would make ideal MIS, but the Forest
Service hardly uses any.
6. Problem: All five
Forest Management Plans have allowed logging to
increase. (Logging will increase on areas the Forest
Service describes as
suitable timber
land. In addition, logging is allowed in areas deemed
unsuitable under thinly veiled excuses such as “Forest
Health” and “Wildlife
Management”.)
Solution: Tell the
Forest Service that logging numbers are way too high in
suitable areas, and that “Forest Health” & “Wildlife
Management” logging in
unsuitable areas is too open to
interpretation.* The Allowable Sale
Quantities for each forest should be lowered to those that
are consistent or
below the number of board feet that
is actually being harvested today. In
addition, logging
in unsuitable areas should have precise provisions so that
they aren’t used as a loophole by timber industries. *Note
Alabama’s plans
are focused on restoration and not
timber production. Proposed acreage is
consistent with
proposed restoration.
Substantiating arguments for less logging:
The draft plans would allow
logging on suitable lands to increase to the
kind of
logging we saw in the 1980’s. USFS publicity maintains that the
plans decreased logging from the previous plans. However,
under the last
plans the FS was never able to log at
that level because of environmental
constraints. These plans would still allow
logging to increase from what is
being harvested today
and this level of logging is still inappropriate.
Wildlife Management logging is superfluous. The
models the Forest Service
uses to determine how much
logging needs to take place for “early
successional
habitat” does not factor in natural occurring early succession.
One to two percent of stable forests are disturbed
naturally each year.
Adding unnatural disturbances of
4-5% to our forests (10-20% in some areas)
opens up way
too much forest and creates unnatural conditions.
Intact Forests offer more to local economies that
logging. Hunting brought
in $296 million in
retail sales to the region in 1996. The Ocoee River
alone brought in more than $3 million a year in commercial
and private user
fees. In contrast, timber
based annual employment continues to decrease due
things like automation.
7. Problem: All five Forest Management Plans
perpetuate unnatural forest
conditions by using Western
Fire models. (The Southern Appalachian Forests
are very different then Western forest. They are
more fine grained, and
include very wet, stable forest
types in addition to ridges and south slopes
where
natural lighting strikes do produce natural fires. The draft
Management Plans do not take this into consideration and
insist on managing
with broad-brush strokes.)
Solution: Tell the
Forest Service to manage our Southern Appalachian Forest
as Southern Appalachian Forests. They need to
keep fire and logging out of
mesic coves and north
facing slopes. Fire and large-scale disturbances
are harmful to these forests and the species that rely on
them. Creating
more early succession will
perpetuate an unnatural forest that needs
continuous
management.
Substantiating
arguments:
Our Southern
Appalachian Forests are finely detailed containing some fire
dependent or fire tolerant communities on ridges and south
slopes in close
proximity to fire intolerant
communities (e.g. mixed mesophytic and northern
hardwoods). Managing fire in large blocks as
proposed in the draft plans
will do irreparable harm to
many of our forests.
*********************************
*Your WILDALERT for June 10, 2003
*********************************
Yesterday the U.S. Forest Service
announced that it would
allow logging in wild portions
of America's two largest
national forests, the Tongass
and the Chugach. Under the
plan, undeveloped, roadless
areas in national forests
across the country could also
be opened to logging and
road building.
The move threatens millions of
acres of wild places held
dear by Americans, including
300,000 acres of centuries-old
trees in the Tongass
National Forest in Alaska, habitat
for eagles, wolves
and brown bear.
But even as
the U.S.F.S. moves to gut the roadless area
protection
rule, a bipartisan group in the Congress has
introduced
legislation to codify it and to permanently
protect
over 58 million acres of spectacular roadless
land
across the country.
Please take action now and ask your Senators and
Representative
to co-sponsor the bill.
http://ga1.org/ct/8pa4MzE1vdqO/
BACKGROUND
The Forest Service announcement was made June 9th by Mark
Rey, former timber industry lobbyist who is now the
Undersecretary
of Agriculture in charge of the U.S.
Forest Service. Rey
said the Forest Service will write
new regulations to
let governors seek exemptions to the
roadless rule across
the national forest system. The
move undermines the roadless
conservation rule, which
had set aside 58.5 million acres
of remaining wild
places on our national forests.
That will drastically change the status of our national
forests. Today, they are places prized for their wildlife
habitat, clean drinking water, opportunities for
recreation
and solitude. Under the Rey proposal, these
forests will
become pawns to the short-term economic
urges of individual
states and the timber industry.
The landmark Roadless Area
Conservation Rule was set in
place by the Clinton
Administration in January 2001, after
two years of
study and unprecedented public involvement.
It placed
off limits to most logging and road-building
58.5
million acres of roadless lands on our national forests.
Public
comment on the proposed rule set records: over
1.6
million Americans weighed in on behalf of roadless
area
protection. Public enthusiasm for the rule was matched
only by opposition from the timber industry. The industry
quickly brought suit against the rule. Though the Bush
Administration refused to defend the rule against the
industry challenge, a federal appeals court upheld it.
But before 2001 was out, Rey's Forest Service issued
its
own temporary directive to supplant the roadless
protection
rule.
************************************
THE ALASKA CLAUSE
Alaska's
rainforests, the Tongass and the Chugach, are
respectively the nation's largest and second largest
national
forests: the Tongass encompasses 17 million
acres, the
Chugach 5 million. Together, they account
for around a
quarter of the roadless acreage the
conservation rule
was designed to protect.
The State of Alaska sued to
block the roadless protection
rule, which halted agency
plans to clearcut 175 million
board feet annually from
the roadless areas on the Tongass.
Under the terms of
the so-called "settlement," the Forest
Service will go
through the formality of drafting a short-term
rule for
Tongass roadless areas over the summer months.
It will
also propose a separate rule permanently exempting
both
the Chugach and the Tongass, scheduled to take effect
by the end of this year.
Alaska conservationists term the roadless areas on the
Tongass the forest's "biological heart" and warn of serious
impacts on brown bears, bald eagles, wolves and other
species that depend on healthy, old-growth forests for
their survival.
While Rey cast the decision as affecting only 300,000
roadless acres on the Tongass, he conceded under reporters'
questioning that it could end up extending to fully 2.5
million acres of roadless old growth on the Tongass.
************************************
THE GOVERNORS' LOOPHOLE
For all
the forests outside Alaska, Mark Rey proposes
to give
the governors of each state the power to request
special "waivers of the roadless rule." Such waivers could
be granted for road building and logging to reduce
"hazardous
fuels" or to "restore essential wildlife
habitat," among
other reasons.
Creating this loophole for
governor-requested exemption
would totally undermine
the purpose and effect of the
roadless rule. Proponents
of timber sales in roadless
areas could obtain waivers
from the rule's prohibition
simply by obtaining
approvals from their governors and
Mark Rey.
**************************************
SUE AND SETTLE
The device Rey
invoked to bust open the Tongass roadless
areas is part
of a now familiar Administration pattern
some describe
as "sue and settle." The Administration
overturned a
snowmobile ban in Yellowstone and Grand Teton
National
Parks to settle industry lawsuit against the
ban. It
used the same approach to radically change the
Northwest Forest Plan. And in another settlement it has
offered to surrender to Utah thousands of rights of way
to imaginary roads across public lands, urging other
western
states to follow suit. Each settlement ignores
overwhelming
public support; each one forecloses
additional public
participation.
In both the Utah and the roadless
cases, the concern is
that the true owner of these
lands, the American public,
is being locked out of key
decisions regarding their management.
Rey touted the roadless deal as an effort at "cooperative
participation of state governments." That sentiment
does
not extend to the public at large, though. Last
week the
Forest Service announced final regulations
that will effectively
shut the public out of a wide
range of national forest
decisions: logging, mining,
grazing and recreational use,
among others. Most
logging projects will be flatly exempt
from citizen
appeal.
************************************
HOW YOU CAN HELP: CONTACT YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TODAY!
http://ga1.org/ct/8pa4MzE1vdqO/
Even as the Forest Service is
gutting the roadless area
protection rule, a bipartisan
group in the Congress has
introduced legislation to
codify it and to permanently
protect over 58 million
acres of spectacular roadless
land across the country.
Principal sponsors of the
legislation, the National Forest
Roadless Area
Conservation Act, are Reps. Sherwood Boehlert
(R-NY)
and Jay Inslee (D-WA) in the House of Representatives,
and Sens. John Warner (R-VA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA).
Please ask your senators and your
representative to co-sponsor
S. 1200 and H.R. 2369, if
they haven't done so already.
You can find contact info for your
Senators at:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
and for the House at:
<
href="http://www.congress.com">http://www.congress.com
************************************
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear (Senator or Representative),
A bi-partisan group of lawmakers
recently introduced legislation
in both houses that
would codify the Roadless Area Conservation
Rule, which
protects the last remaining roadless areas
on America's
national forests.
The Roadless
Rule was put into effect after millions of
Americans
voiced their support for it. It is a conservative
measure that protects the best of what is left in
undeveloped
lands on our forests.
This legislation is even more
important now that the U.S.
Forest Service has
announced that it will allow logging
in national forest
roadless areas throughout the country
and in the
Tongass and Chugach national forests in Alaska.
I hope you will co-sponsor the Roadless Area Conservation
Act of 2003 (S 1200; HR 2369). And, if you have already
signed on, thank you!
Sincerely,
(your name)
************************************
THANKS TO YOU!
Thanks for your
interest in America's national forests.
And thanks for
being a part of WildAlert, our online community
of
wilderness activists!
*************************************
WORDS TO THINK ABOUT
"A truth
that's told with bad intent beats all the lies
you can
invent." --William Blake
You
can take action on this alert via the web at:
http://ga1.org/campaign/roadless_tws/inbx8ba2j67n
We need more people to speak out
about their concern for
our wild forests. Please take
the time to forward this
message to your friends and
relatives.
http://ga1.org/campaign/roadless_tws/forward/inbx8ba2j67n
We encourage you to take
action by June 30, 2003
Help
Stop Logging in our Wild Forests
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://ga1.org/campaign/roadless_tws/inbx8ba2j67n
Your letter will be addressed
and sent to:
Your Senators
----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN
YOUR NAME----
Dear [decision maker name automatically
inserted here],
A bi-partisan
group of lawmakers recently introduced legislation
in
both houses that would codify the Roadless Area Conservation
Rule, which protects the last remaining roadless areas
on America's national forests.
The Roadless Rule was put into effect after millions of
Americans voiced their support for it. It is a conservative
measure that protects the best of what is left in
undeveloped
lands on our forests.
This legislation is even more
important now that the U.S.
Forest Service has
announced that it will allow logging
in the Tongass and
Chugach National Forests in Alaska
and that the agency
will consider special waivers to allow
logging in
national forest roadless areas throughout the
country.
I
hope you will co-sponsor the Roadless Area Conservation
Act of 2003 (S 1200; HR 2369). And, if you have already
signed on, thank you!
----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----
Sincerely,
The
Senate may be voting on a number of fuel economy provisions in
their comprehensive energy bill, S. 14, as early as TODAY.
The
current bill has a damaging automobile fuel economy
proposal that
will increase our dependence on foreign
oil, ensure that consumers
continue to pay more at the
pump, and cause an increase in global
warming
pollution. Please take a moment to send a letter to your
senators urging them to oppose S.14 as it currently stands;
to oppose
amendments to further weaken fuel economy
standards; and to support
amendments that truly address
the national security, consumer, and
environmental
challenges posed by gas-guzzling vehicles.
TAKE ACTION:
To automatically send the letter below to your senators,
hit "Reply"
and then "Send", in your email program.
To customize your letter and learn
more about the issue, visit
http://www.ucsaction.org/index.asp?step=2&item=2705
***********
Letter:
Dear Senator,
The Senate energy bill, S. 14, is
a damaging proposal for American
consumers, public
health, and the environment. We urge you to oppose
this
legislation.
In particular, S.
14 currently contains provisions related to
automobile
fuel economy that will ensure our increasing dependence on
foreign oil, ensure that consumers continue to pay more at
the pump,
and ensure increasing levels of global
warming pollution.
Specifically, S.14 weakens current
law by adding redundant decision
criteria that the
Department of Transportation (DOT) must consider
before
updating fuel economy standards. This language can only serve
to frustrate efforts to raise standards by creating new
opportunities
for litigation. S.14 also extends a
loophole for vehicles that can
run on alternative fuel
but almost never do.
We urge
you to support any amendments that strike down these harmful
provisions, as well as amendments that would make
significant
progress in reducing our dependence on
foreign oil, save consumers
money, and reduce global
warming pollution. We urge you to support
the following
amendments that will most likely be proposed:
* McCain-Kerry amendment-The McCain-Kerry
amendment would likely
raise fuel economy standards for
passenger cars and trucks to an
average of 34 mpg.
* Feinstein
amendment-The Feinstein amendment would require
passenger trucks and cars to meet the
same fuel economy standard
of 27.5
mpg.
* Durbin amendment-The Durbin amendment would
increase fuel economy
standards for
passenger cars and trucks to 40 mpg; increase fuel
economy standards for pickup trucks to
27.5 mpg; and include
heavier
vehicles (up to 10,000 pounds) in both of these of
categories.
Finally, we urge you to oppose any
efforts to make the damaging
language in this bill even
worse, including:
* Levin amendment-In addition to the new
criteria currently in S.
14, the
Levin amendment is expected to add even more decision
criteria for DOT to consider. These new
restrictions are an
attempt to
frustrate DOT's ability to improve fuel economy
standards. Existing criteria already
require the agency to
consider
technological and economic feasibility, the effect of
other motor vehicle standards on fuel
economy, and the need of the
United
States to conserve energy. Furthermore, the agency already
takes safety and employment impacts into
account.
The Senate recently
adopted an amendment that requires the president
to
take measures to reduce oil consumption by one million barrels a
day by 2013. We urge you to help the president meet this
requirement
by (1) opposing the damaging fuel economy
language in the underlying
bill; (2) opposing
amendments that would further weaken fuel economy
standards; and (3) supporting amendments that truly address
the
national security, consumer, and environmental
challenges posed by
the transportation sector.
Sincerely,
[Your name and address will be
inserted here]
****************
Background:
The United States is the world's
largest consumer of oil, with two-
thirds of that oil
going to fuel the transportation sector. Our
thirst for
oil has far-reaching implications, ranging from
compromising our energy security to polluting the air we
breathe and
contributing to global warming. The most
cost-effective way to reduce
our oil consumption is to
improve the fuel economy of motor vehicles.
Increasing
the fuel economy of passenger vehicles to an average of 40
mpg would reduce our dependence on foreign oil, reduce
global warming
emissions, and save consumers money at
the gas pump. Detroit has the
technology to accomplish
this while maintaining the power, safety,
and
performance that consumers demand.
Last year, Congress attempted to pass comprehensive energy
legislation that died in Conference Committee. This
year, Congress is
renewing their effort to pass this
legislation, with the Senate
currently working on their
version of the bill. On June 10, 2003, the
Senate
passed an amendment offered by Senator Mary Landrieu (D, La.)
that calls on the president to take measures to reduce U.S.
oil
consumption by one million barrels of oil per day
by 2013. The bill
currently before the Senate includes
provisions that will weaken fuel
economy standards,
thereby increasing oil dependence, costing
consumers
money at the gas pump, and increasing global warming
emissions. We expect several amendments to be offered that
would
improve fuel economy. We also expect an amendment
that would further
erode the Department of
Transportation's ability to improve the fuel
economy of
our cars and trucks.
************
If you have questions,
comments or concerns about this action, send
email to
action@ucsusa.org -- replying to this action will send the
letter.
ADMINISTRATION EARNS D- ON NATIONAL PARKS
NPCA today released a report card
that highlights the Bush administration's failure to protect our national parks.
As a key park advocate we need your help to stop the administration's actions
that are having a devastating effect on the parks.
NPCA's detailed assessment illustrates the administration's
pervasive pattern of damaging national park policies over the past two and a
half years, including:
- The
decision to roll back the Clean Air Act, which threatens visitor enjoyment of
national parks as well as their health and harms the plants and animals that
live in these special places.
- A top-down mandate to
privatize up to 70 percent of all positions in the already understaffed National
Park Service which will undermine park protection, the experience of park
visitors, and efforts to diversify the Park Service workforce.
- A failure to fullfill the administration's promise to
eliminate the maintenance and construction backlog. In addition, the
administration has not yet adequately addressed insufficient park operating
budgets, which lead to the maintenance backlog and the failure to address
insufficient park operating budgets.
- The use of the
provision in the antiquated 1866 Mining Law, Revised Statute 2477, to encourage
county and state governments to claim everything from wheelbarrow ruts and
stream beds as roads and pave our national parks.
The president and the Secretary of the Interior are charged
with protecting our National Park System. This administration has not met its
commitment and in fact has pushed through policies that threaten nearly every
facet of park protection.
To
read the full report visit: http://www.npca.org/across_the_nation/report_card/
We need your voice, your passion,
and your time. The only way to protect our national parks is to work together to
ensure that decisions made by Congress and the administration protect our parks.
Millions of Americans cherish our national parks but they need your help. Only
if you take action will parks receive the protection needed so that future
generations can still enjoy hiking to the top of Mount Rainier, exploring the
cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde, and stepping back into history at Gettysburg.
There are many ways you can help.
Send a letter to your representative and senators, letting them know that they
cannot stand by and let our national parks become irrevocably damaged.
Take Action >> http://www.npca.org/take_action/action_alerts/
In addition, you can:
* Forward this email to your
friends and family
* Send a
letter to the editor >>
http://www.npca.org/take_action/lettertoeditor/
* Join NPCA >>
https://www.npca.org/support_npca/
Over the years, park advocates
have been the key to protecting our national parks and we need your help now
more than ever. Thank you for your dedication and commitment to our national
parks.
Thank you for your time
and dedication to helping enhance and protect our national parks for present and
future generations,
NPCA Grassroots Staff
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* National Park Lines is a publication of the National
Parks Conservation Association's Park Action Network. To learn how you and your
friends can become more involved in national park advocacy, contact our
grassroots staff at TakeAction@npca.org. Take action! Tell your friends! Just go
to http://www.npca.org/takeaction.
Comments? Suggestions? Tell us how
we can improve. Write TakeAction@npca.org. Learn more about NPCA at http://www.npca.org
Visit us online at http://www.npca.org.
ACTION NEEDED!
Roadless Rule
Revisions Leave Alaskan Forests on the Chopping Block!
On June 9, former timber industry
lobbyist and current U.S. Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Rey announced that
the Bush administration will strip the Tongass National Forest from the Roadless
Area Conservation Rule. He also stated the administration’s intent to reconsider
roadless protection in the Chugach National Forest – ultimately leaving open to
commercial logging and development the America’s last great temperate
rainforest. The proposed rules are expected to be released later this month for
public comment.
HOW YOU CAN
HELP:
CALL (1-800-839-5276 or
202-224-3121) your Members of Congress and ask that they become cosponsors of
the National Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2003 which requires that the Bush
administration honor the Roadless Rule, including protections for the
rainforest.
I the U.S. House
of Representatives, the Roadless Area Conservation Act is HR 2369. In the U.S.
Senate, the Roadless Area Conservation act is S 1200.
Here’s a sample message:
Hello, my name is X X and I’m a
constituent from X. I’m calling to express my alarm at the Forest Service’s
decision to exempt the rainforest from the Roadless Rule. I urge Representative
X/Senator X to cosponsor the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2003.”
Be sure to leave your name and
address, ask for a written response and say thanks!
OR, SEND A FREE FAX through the Alaska Rainforest Campaign
website. Click on the take action button on our front page (www.akrain.org).
THE ISSUE:
Why is the Bush administration
stripping roadless potections from America’s ranforest in Alaska? It’s an
aggressive clearcut agenda, fueled by the corporate timber industry, pursued by
the Bush administration in anticipation of the gutting of the Roadless
Rule. According to the Forest Service’s “Ten-Year Schedule of Tongass
Timber Projects,” the Bush administration is planning approximately 50 timber
projects in roadless areas of the Tongass National Forest that are protected by
the National Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
Adopted by the Forest Service in January 2001 after an
unprecedent public rulemaking process that received over 2 million public
comments, the Roadless Rule protects over 9 million acres of the Tongass and
nearly 5 million acres of the Chugach, including the most critical old-growth
habitat of these great rainforests.
Weighing in on the side of the American people, U.S.
Representatives Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) and Jay Inslee (D-WA) and Sens. Maria
Cantwell (D-WA) and John Warner (R-VA) introduced (6/5/03) the Roadless Area
Conservation Act of 2003, bipartisan legislation to preserve the Roadless Rule
in its original form so the Tongass and Chugach would be included.
***
For more information contact Laurie Cooper, Alaska
Coalition (laurie@alaskacoalition.org).
Thanks for your support.
Alaska Rainforest Campaign Staff.
To:
All Activists
Fr: Lisa Dix, American Lands Alliance
Date: June 11, 2003
Bush Administration Guts the Roadless Rule
On June 9, 2003 the Bush
Administration announced its plans to completely
eliminate the Roadless Rule's protection for roadless areas
in Alaska's
Tongass and Chugach National Forests and
severely weaken the Rule everywhere
else in the
National Forest System. The Bush Administration in its typical
green washing fashion distributed information to the press
and to the public
stating that it would retain the
Roadless Rule.
The truth is:
the Administration will completely exempt the Tongass and
Chugach National Forest from the Rule by arguing that the
Alaska exemption
will settle a lawsuit filed by the
State of Alaska and the timber industry.
Also, the
Administration stated that it would amend the Roadless Rule in
order to establish a new process where Governors can exempt
roadless area
protections on a state-by-state
basis. Any Governor can request a waiver
from the Rule's prohibitions for many reasons, including
reducing fire
hazards and "restoring essential wildlife
habitat."
Please call your
Representative and Senators and ask that they help stop the
Bush Administration's attacks on the Roadless
Rule. Explain that the
Administration is not
retaining the Roadless Rule and that your Senators and
Representative can help by immediately co-sponsoring
bipartisan legislation
to codify the Rule.
To find the web page and direct
phone number for your Representative go to:
http://www.house.gov/MemStateSearch.html.
To find the web pages and direct phone number for your
Senators go to:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.
Tell your Representative and
Senator that they can co-sponsor the National
Forest
Roadless Area Protection Act by contacting:
HOUSE :
Office of Jay Inslee (D-WA), 202-225-6311, Office of Sherwood
Boehlert (R-NY), 202-225-3665
SENATE: Office of Maria Cantwell (D-WA),
202-224-3441
Additional
Talking Points Prepared by Mike Anderson from the Wilderness
Society
§
The Administration Is Not "Retaining" the Roadless Rule
The headline of the Administration's press release - "USDA
Retains National
Forest Roadless Area Conservation
Rule" - is highly misleading. In reality,
the Administration is fundamentally altering the Roadless
Rule by entirely
exempting the Tongass and Chugach
National Forests, which contain
one-quarter of all
Forest Service, inventoried roadless land, and
establishing an exemption process for other national
forests.
§ Exemption for
Hazardous Fuels Reduction Projects Is a Huge and
Counterproductive Loophole
The
Administration downplays the significance of the exemption process,
saying that Governors can only seek relief for "exceptional
circumstances"
and that only "a relatively small
portion" of the roadless areas will be
eligible for
exemptions. However, the exemption for "reducing hazardous
fuels" could apply to millions of acres. The
Bush Administration has
declared that 190 million acres
of federal land need to be treated to reduce
hazardous
fuels. While less than 1 percent of roadless areas are located
near communities considered at risk from wildfires, the
Administration has
made little effort to prioritize
fuel reduction work near communities.
Thus, the
exemption could be applied to vast areas of roadless land located
many miles from any community.
The hazardous fuels exemption is also unnecessary and
counterproductive to
reducing wildfire risk to rural
communities. The existing Roadless Rule
already allows the Forest Service to thin small-diameter
trees for the
purpose of fuel reduction, so long as it
can be accomplished without
building new roads (36 CFR
294.13(b)(1)(ii)). The Bush Administration's
proposal will expand that exception to allow road building
and logging of
large trees, which would likely increase
rather than reduce fire risk.
According to the Forest
Service's environmental impact study of the Roadless
Rule, fires are much more common in areas with roads than
in roadless areas.
§ Existing
Rule Already Provides Exceptions for Health, Safety, and Access
To justify the need to amend the Roadless Rule, the
Administration wrongly
portrays the Rule as inflexible
and overly restrictive. For example, the
Administration claims that the Rule needs to be amended to
allow exceptions
for protecting public health and
safety and providing access to private
property. However, the Roadless Rule already
contains exceptions for public
health and safety and
for access to private property (36 CFR 294.12(b)).
§ Reliance on Governors Is Misplaced
The Administration's unprecedented proposal to give
individual state
governors authority to request waivers
from the Roadless Rule abdicates
federal
responsibilities to manage the national forest roadless areas for
the benefit of all Americans. The federal
government does not tell the
states how to manage state
forestlands; likewise, states should not become
co-managers of national forest roadless
areas. State governors are not
qualified to represent the national interest in roadless
area conservation,
nor do they necessarily have the
information and expertise at their disposal
to make
scientifically sound judgments about national forest roadless area
management. Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal
called the Administration's
roadless proposal an
"unfunded mandate.... It means the state will have to
develop significant expertise in forest planning that we
don't really have."
§ The
Roadless Rule Does Not Violate ANILCA
In explaining why
it settled the State of Alaska's lawsuit, the
Administration erroneously suggests that the Roadless Rule
may have violated
the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act (ANILCA). The State of
Alaska's case relied primarily on an extremely expansive
and unprecedented
interpretation of the "no more"
clause of ANILCA (section 101(d)), which
declares that
ANILCA strikes a reasonable balance between natural resource
utilization and preservation and that no additional
"conservation system
units" need to be established.
However, the roadless areas
protected by Roadless Rule clearly are not
conservation
system units, which are specifically defined in ANILCA. In
fact, in its responses to public comments on the Roadless
Rule, the Forest
Service rejected the argument that the
Rule violated ANILCA, stating, "The
Forest Service has
addressed agency legal requirements of the ANILCA....
[T]he proposed rule does not seek to establish Conservation
System Unit(s)
as defined by
ANILCA." (Roadless Rule FEIS, Vol. 3 (Response to Public
Comments), p. 191).
Thus, it is obvious that the Administration is simply using
the State of
Alaska settlement as legal cover for what
is a patently political deal to
benefit the timber
industry at the expense of the incomparable scenic and
ecological values of the Tongass and Chugach National
Forests.
§ Administration's
"Sue and Settle" Strategy Violates Public Trust
The
Alaska court settlement is the latest egregious example of the
Administration's unethical "sue and settle" strategy to
undermine sound
environmental policies that enjoy
enormous public support. Other examples
include settlements to allow more logging of old-growth
forests in the
Pacific Northwest, permit more
snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park,
and halt
wilderness inventories by the Bureau of Land Management.
The Roadless Rule has been the
unfortunate target for the Bush
Administration's
underhanded legal tactics. Despite Attorney General
Ashcroft's promise to uphold and defend the Rule, the
Administration schemed
to defeat the Rule by failing to
defend it in court.
§ The
Changes Contradict Recommendations of the Forest Roads Working Group
The Administration falsely implies that the Rule changes
are based on the
recommendations of the Forest Roads
Working Group, which includes
representatives of the
timber industry, wildlife managers, and the
recreation
industry. The Administration's Roadless Questions and Answers
states, "In addition, the Department considered the
recommendations on the
management of roadless areas
submitted in March of 2003 from the Forest
Roads Working
Group."
To the contrary, the
FRWG recommended that the Administration should halt
its effort to amend the Roadless Rule and instead should
appoint an advisory
committee to oversee implementation
of the Rule. The group's report states,
"[T]he FRWG recommends that the Service (1) postpone the
rulemaking process
commenced by its July 10, 2001
Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for
several
years; (2) leave the Roadless Area Conservation Rule substantially
unchanged in order to gain experience, information and
policy insight from
its implementation; and (3)
establish an advisory committee" to identify
issues,
gather data, and suggest improvements. The FRWG report is available
at <http://www2.merid.org/roadless/>.
I
wanted to send you an update on the recent Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) vote on media monopolies. Unfortunately, the FCC voted 3-2 on June 2 to
weaken the rules that limit how many TV stations a media giant can own and
prevent conglomerates from owning newspapers and TV stations in the same
markets. These changes will have a negative effect on competition for news, the
amount of local news and culture presented and the diversity of views presented
to viewers and listeners.
But
thanks in part to your help, we have another chance to block the misguided plan.
A record 500,000 people sent comments to the FCC opposing the rule-changes. And
a bipartisan coalition has already formed in Congress to reject the FCC's action
and restore provisions of the old media ownership rules that guaranteed a
diversity of views on publicly owned airwaves.
The first step is in the U.S. Senate, where the Commerce
Committee could vote as early as June 19 on a bill to restore the rule limiting
national market share of any TV network to 35 percent of all households. The FCC
action increased this cap to 45 percent.
There's still time to make your voice heard. Please take a
moment to urge your U.S. Senators to support this bill and any strengthening
amendments. In particular, we expect one important amendment could reinstate the
ban on newspapers and television station cross-ownership in the same market.
Then, ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this e-mail to them.
To take action, click on this link
or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=467&id4=ES
The
Supreme Court, in its most important ruling on broadcasting, once said that the
"rights of the viewers and listeners are paramount." Three FCC commissioners -
Chairman Michael Powell, Kevin Martin and Kathleen Abernathy - voted against the
public interest on June 2 and for the financial interests of a handful of
corporate media giants.
Uless
their action is overturned, the FCC has handed over our publicly owned airwaves
to these huge media conglomerates without getting anything in return - no
commitment for better news reporting, no commitment to cover local issues, no
commitment to present unbiased information, no meaningful commitment for more
children's programming, no commitment for anything in the public interest.
Allowing a merger between a
dominant newspaper and a large TV station in local communities across the
country, as the FCC order does, is likely to create news giants that stifle
reporting of local or different points of view. Such a news and information
giant is a frightening prospect for democracy. Public policy should err in favor
of more competition, not less, so communities around the nation can enjoy a
greater diversity of viewpoints so critical to democratic dialogue and debate.
But dissident FCC
commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein have led a spirited six-month
campaign to alert the public and mobilize opposition from groups as diverse as
the NRA, Council of Catholic Bishops, Common Cause and us.
Congress is now considering
blocking the FCC's action. The Senate Commerce Committee could vote as early as
June 19 on S. 1046, sponsored by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Sen. Fritz
Hollings (D-S.C.) and others. The bill is called the Preservation of Localism,
Program Diversity, and Competition in Television Broadcast Service Act of 2003,
and it would restore the rule limiting national market share of any TV network
to 35 percent of all households. The FCC action had increased this cap to 45
percent.
We also expect Sen.
Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) to offer an important amendment to reinstate the ban on
newspapers and television station cross-ownership in the same market.
Thanks again for your continued
support of strong public interest rules on media ownership. Please contact your
senators today, and ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this
e-mail to them as well.
To
take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=467&id4=ES
Sincerely,
Gene Karpinski
U.S. PIRG Executive Director
GeneK@uspirg.org
http://www.USPIRG.org
The
Bush administration recently announced new rules to reduce
emissions from heavy diesel equipment such as construction
and
agricultural machinery. The EPA is now accepting
written comments on
this proposed rule. Pollution from
"non-road" or "off-highway"
diesel equipment is
responsible for almost 10,000 premature deaths
per
year. UCS' new report "Cleaning Up Diesel Pollution" demonstrates
how strong new rules to clean up heavy equipment can reduce
pollution
from these engines by 90% for only 1-3%
increase in cost. Tell the
Environmental Protection
Agency to resist industry lobbyists and to
enact strong
new rules.
TAKE ACTION:
To automatically send the letter
below to the EPA Administrator
Whitman, hit "Reply" and
then "Send", in your email program.
To customize your letter and learn more about the issue,
visit
http://www.ucsaction.org/index.asp?step=2&item=2701
You can also read the new
UCS report and search our database to see
how
off-highway diesel pollution impacts your community.
http://www.ucsusa.org/cleaningupdiesel.html
***********
Letter:
Dear Administrator Whitman:
I am writing to urge the Environmental Protection Agency to
write
strong new rules to clean up dirty diesel
equipment. Pollution from
heavy "non-road" diesel
equipment such as construction and farm
equipment,
locomotives and marine vessels is responsible for almost
10,000 premature deaths per year. A typical bulldozer emits
as much
soot and smog forming pollutants as 26 new
cars. Exposure to diesel
pollution has been linked to
increased rates of asthma, heart disease
and cancer.
EPA's proposal to make heavy
diesel equipment and fuel meet
essentially the same
pollution standards as diesel trucks and buses
and
highway fuel, is on the right track, but should be strengthened
by requiring that the sulfur content of non-road fuel be
reduced to
15 ppm as soon as possible, instead of
delaying the availability of
cleaner fuel for several
years. The rule should also include
standards to reduce
the sulfur content in the fuel used for marine
vessels
and locomotives, consistent with the requirements for other
non-road fuel. Also, I urge you to hold true to your
commitment to
reject the cost-benefit analysis that
discounts the lives of seniors
when analyzing the
impacts of this policy or other policies being
considered by the EPA.
The current proposal to clean up the emissions from heavy
diesel
equipment is a positive step forward. However,
it is important that
this rule be implemented quickly
and be focused on improving air
quality and the health
of all Americans.
Sincerely,
[Your name and address will be inserted here]
****************
Background:
On April 15, 2003, the EPA released a proposed rule to
reduce
pollution from heavy diesel equipment, also
referred to as "land-
based non-road engines" or
"off-highway engines" These engines are
major sources
of air pollution, releasing toxic particulates and smog-
forming nitrogen oxides into the air we breathe. In every
state or
metropolitan area they are a major source of
air pollution. On June
9th, the Union of Concerned
Scientists released a new
report, "Cleaning Up Diesel
Pollution: Emissions of Off-Highway
Engines by State."
This report breaks down the off-highway pollution
problem by state and details the steps that the EPA should
take to
solve it. The UCS website also features a
database of off-highway
pollution for every county
across the country. (If you wish to
customize your
letter, add in local data from your area).
Holding these engines accountable to the same fuel and
tailpipe
standards as highway trucks and buses will cut
their emissions of
soot by 90%, while smog-forming
nitrogen oxide emissions will be
reduced by at least
95%.
Engines that are used for
construction (such as bulldozers and
excavators),
farming (tractors and combines), industrial and
commercial usage (portable generators), recreation
(snowmobiles),
logging, and airport support are
included in the rule. Two
significant categories of
non-road engines are not included:
locomotives and
commercial marine vessels.
Pollution controls for heavy diesel equipment can be
installed at a
relatively low cost. Emission control
technologies developed for
highway trucks and buses can
be modified for application on heavy
diesel
equipment.
The PA estimates
that nearly 10,000 premature deaths could be
avoided
every year by harmonizing the emission and fuel standards for
heavy diesel equipment with the standards for highway
diesel trucks
and buses. Another study by air pollution
officials and regulators
estimates that stronger
regulations would save the nation $67 billion
annually
through avoided incidences of hospitalization, lost work
days, premature death, and other health effects. EPA has
stated that
it will reject the accounting process known
as the "senior death
discount" that values the lives of
senior citizens 37% less than
younger people when
calculating the impacts of proposed policies.
The EPA is proposing emissions standards that would reduce
soot and
nitrogen oxide emissions by more than 90%.
These standards would be
phased in between 2008 and
2014. To meet the standards, advanced
emission controls
currently being developed for highway trucks and
buses
would need to be incorporated into heavy diesel engines.
Advanced emission controls rely upon "ultra-low" sulfur
diesel in
order to function, and the sulfur content in
diesel fuel would need
to be reduced 99% from today's
level. The EPA is proposing a two-step
program to
reduce sulfur content: Beginning in 2007, today's
uncontrolled level of 3,400 parts per million (ppm) would
drop to 500
ppm, and then down to 15 ppm in
2010. You can submit
comments on this
proposed rule through August 20.
You can read the new UCS report
and search the database at
http://www.ucsusa.org/cleaningupdiesel.html
Questions: Contact Jean Sideris at
transpointern@ucsusa.org 202-223-
6133 x 135
We
know it is important to leave future generations a
legacy of healthy and thriving coastal and ocean
ecosystems.
But, as a society, we are dangerously close
to failing
to meet that responsibility.
A report recently released by the
independent Pew Oceans
Commission finds that our
coastal and marine ecosystems
are in a state of crisis
as a result of mismanaged human
activities ranging from
overfishing to uncontrolled coastal
development. Unless
we are better stewards these important
public resources
will be lost to our children. Fortunately,
the
Commission's report concludes that it is not too late
and offers comprehensive, straightforward recommendations
for responsible management of our coasts and oceans in
the 21st century.
The independent Pew Oceans
Commission is made up of 18
leaders in science,
fishing, business, conservation, and
policy. Its
comprehensive report is the first national
examination
of the oceans and coasts, and how we care
for them in
more than 30 years.
Putting
the Commission's recommendations in place will
take
commitment on the part of all of us and involve officials
at all levels of government. Your governor is in a unique
position to play a key role in getting these
recommendations
implemented. Please respond to this
alert and send him
or her a message urging that he or
she endorse the recommendations
of the Pew Oceans
Commission and work to implement them
at both the state
and national levels.
You can
take action on this alert either via email (please
see
directions below) or via the web at:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/POC/wkwxs54l783bjk
Visit the web address below to
tell your friends about
this.
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/POC/forward/wkwxs54l783bjk
We encourage you to take
action by July 3, 2003
Please
Respond to Tell Your Governor that Collapsing Ocean
Ecosystems Need 21st Century Protections!
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/POC/wkwxs54l783bjk
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA
EMAIL:
Just choose the "reply to sender" option on your
email
program.
Your letter will be addressed and sent to Your Governor
----THIS
LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----
***To Make Edits
to this Sample Letter, Please Visit the
Alert Website
and Make Changes in the Letter Edit Window***
Dear Governor,
I care deeply about the health of our coastal and ocean
ecosystems, which are vitally important to our state now
and in the future. I want to call your attention to an
important new national report that details the value of
these public resources, and the actions that must be
taken
to protect marine ecosystems that are on the
brink of
collapse.
This report, written by the
independent Pew Oceans Commission,
is the first
national examination of the oceans and coasts
in more
than 30 years. Made up of 18 leaders in science,
fishing, business, conservation, and policy, the Commission
has carefully documented the damage to ecosystems from
coastal sprawl, habitat loss, destructive fishing
practices,
polluted runoff, and the uncoordinated
multitude of agencies
and laws that are failing to
protect these public resources.
As a result, the
Commission calls for prudent, common
sense steps to
restore and protect ocean and coastal ecosystems
that
support a diverse web of life. The report makes sound
and achievable policy recommendations for better
stewardship,
specifically addressing such issues as
coordinated ecosystem
management, coastal development,
fishing, pollution, and
aquaculture.
I urge you to carefully review the
Pew Oceans Commission
report and its recommendations. I
also urge you to work
to put the Commission's
recommendations into practice
here in our state, and at
the national level. We must
act now to do what we can
to better protect and restore
our state's important
coastal and ocean resources.
I hope you share my concern for the long-term health of
our coastal and ocean ecosystems and will act upon these
important recommendations.
----END OF LETTER TO BE
SENT----
DEN
Alert: Help Support Funding for Conservation Programs
In 2002, Congress created an
innovative new program that will help
farmers and
ranchers protect wildlife habitat, reduce the use of
harmful pesticides, and run their entire farms in a more
environmentally friendly manner. The Conservation
Security Program,
which provides payments to farmers
and ranchers for implementing a
wide range of
conservation practices on their land, will receive
absolutely no funding in Fiscal Year 2004 due to a House
subcommittee decision handed down this
week. But, there is still a
chance to help
acquire funding for these programs in the full House
Appropriations Committee.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Defenders of Wildlife is asking
for your help because your
representative sits on the
full House Appropriations Committee and
has the vote to
restore funding to this important conservation
program.
Please a fax to your Representative TODAY, asking that the
full committee correct the subcommittee’s attack on the
Conservation Security Program. The vote may occur early the
week of
JUNE 23, so please send your fax today. Thanks
for helping to keep
innovative conservation programs
funded by Congress.
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE WEB:
If you have access to the web,
simply click on the link below which
will take you to
the DEN Action Center web site:
http://www.denaction.org
Our
most recent GR Action Alert protests the pressure being exerted by
multinational mining companies who want the government of
Ghana to open the
country's protected forest reserves
to mining. (See
http://www.globalresponse.org/gra/current.html -- and
if you haven't written
a letter yet to support Ghana's
coalition against mining in the forest
reserves, please
do!)
The same situation is now
unfolding in Indonesia, with potentially
devastating
consequences. One of the mining companies involved in Ghana --
Newmont Mining Corporation, based in Denver, Colorado -- is
also pressuring
the Indonesian government to permit
open-pit mining in its protected forest
reserves,
accompanied by 21 additional companies. The Indonesian Minister
for Energy and Mineral Resources is on their side. The
government says it
will announce a decision at the end
of June.
The following action
alert was initiated by the Indonesian Mining Advocacy
Network (JATAM). Please send emails/faxes/letters today, to
Indonesian
officials and also to the embassies of
countries that are lobbying on behalf
of the
multinational mining companies. Send copies to JATAM (see contact
info below).
Thank you on behalf of Indonesia's seriously threatened
forests and
indigenous peoples. --Paula
***************************************************
SAVE INDONESIA'S PROTECTED FOREST AREAS FROM MINING
June 2003
* Deforestation in Indonesia has reached 2.4 million
hectares (1.2%) per
year or approximately 10 acres of
rainforest a minute.
* Mining
multinational companies and foreign governments are lobbying the
Indonesian government to open up protected forest areas,
national parks and
other protected areas for mining
while local communities and environmental
justice
groups are demanding that the protected forest areas remain intact
and free from mining.
* The Indonesian government will decide at the end of June
2003….
Deforestation in Indonesia is occurring at an alarming
rate. Allocated
protected forest areas,
national parks and other protected areas are now
being
threatened by mining activities. The government of Indonesia has
issued several laws that aim to protect forests and water
catchments,
including Forestry Act No. 41/1999, which
prohibits open-pit mining in
protected forest areas.
However, the government is also desperate for
foreign
investment to bolster a failing economy, and is under severe
pressure from the mining industry and foreign governments
to override this
environment protection law and grant
mining permits.
Foreign companies and their governments
must respect Indonesia's
communities, forests and the
laws designed to protect them.
The Indonesian government will decide on the fate of 22
mining companies
wanting to mine in protected forest
areas by the end of June 2003. The
Department of Forestry has indicated it may bow to pressure
and allow 15 of
the 22 mining operations to proceed in
protected forest areas. Mining
companies who
are pushing to mine in protected areas include US-owned
Newmont and Freeport, Australian/UK mining companies
BHP-Billiton, Rio Tinto
and Newcrest, and Canadian
companies Placer Dome, Inco and Weda Bay Nickel.
Currently, mining is encroaching on 11.4 million hectares
of forest in
Indonesia. These areas under threat of
mining include 8.68 million hectares
of protected
forests and 2.8 million hectares of conservation areas.
Forest conservation, biodiversity
preservation and prevention of devastating
floods in
Indonesia rely heavily on the protected forest and conservation
area system. The size of the protected areas in Indonesia
is a relatively
small 55.2 million hectares with 31.9
million hectares designated as
protected forests and
the remaining area as conservation areas. All of
these areas have been damaged in some way, from illegal
logging, forest
fires, palm oil tree plantations, and
other industrial uses including
mining.
Indonesian protected forest areas
are few but are sites of rich biodiversity
with profuse
endemic flora and fauna species, as well as the homelands of
indigenous communities. On the other hand, the
mining industry has a large
area of operation (based on
the licenses granted), covering 66.891.496 ha
(more
than 35% of Indonesia’s land area) in 2001. Not satisfied, the mining
industry has been relentlessly lobbying the government
to open up new
protected areas for mining. Foreign
governments are also lobbying on behalf
of their
multinational mining company giants. BHP Billiton, Newcrest, Placer
Dome, and Rio Tinto specifically requested, and received,
lobbying
assistance from the Australian Embassy in
Indonesia on the matter of mining
in protected areas.
Australian embassy officials on nine occasions pressed
Indonesian government Ministers and officials to drop the
ban on mining in
protected areas.
Twenty-two mining companies have
been granted mining leases, and some have
spent money
on exploration, now claiming they therefore have a right to dig
open-cut pits in protected areas. However, all Indonesian
mining contracts
state that the company must obey
Indonesian statutes and regulations
including
environmental protection laws. These regulations and statutes may
change from time to time to adjust to the needs of the
environment and
social condition for the benefit of the
Indonesian people. Therefore there’s
no valid argument
not to obey Forestry Act No.41/1999 and other forestry
regulations. Instead of obeying the law, those companies
have threatened
Indonesian government officials with
lawsuits if they do not permit them to
begin open-cut
mining operations.
Mining in
Indonesia has left a legacy of environmental and social impacts.
Mining multinationals like Newmont, Aurora Gold and Rio
Tinto are currently
shutting down some of their
Indonesian mines, leaving behind open pits,
lands
unable to be reclaimed, acid mine drainage, and other environmental
and social nightmares. Local people and
environment groups are angry for
good reason.
Indonesia has committed to the
global conservation of protected areas and
natural
biodiversities by ratifying the “Convention on Biological Diversity”
(CBD) and agreed to the “Statement of Forest Principles”.
It is part of the
United Nations Forest Forum (UNFF).
Indonesian environment groups therefore
insist that
Indonesia must honour and implement the international agreements
it has entered into. Meanwhile, they demand that
other countries respect
laws made to conserve and
protect Indonesia’s environment.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Support the coalition of Indonesian organizations and
communities by urging
government officials to keep
Indonesia’s protected forest areas off-limits
to
mining. Send emails, faxes or letters!
* Tell them you support a coalition of Indonesian
organizations that opposes
opening Indonesia’s
protected forest areas to mining and that you are
disappointed in the granting of mining permits to 15 mining
companies.
* Congratulate them
for ratifying the Convention on Biological Diversity and
establishing protected areas
* Urge them to maintain Indonesia’s laws that prohibit
mining in protected
forest areas, namely Act No.
41/1999, in order to protect globally
significant
biological diversity, and prevent toxic contamination of water
and agricultural lands from destruction caused by open-pit
mining.
ADDRESSES:
President of Republic of
Indonesia, Megawati Soekarnoputri
Istana Merdeka
Jakarta, Jl. Veteran 16, Jakarta, Indonesia
Telephone:
(+62 21) 3845001 Pes. 190,191
Fax: (+62 21) 345 7782
E-mail: presiden@ri.go.id
(don’t add a what seems to be a missing ‘t’!)
Minister of Forestry
Dr. Ir. M. Prakosa
Jl. Gatot
Subroto
South Jakarta, Indonesia
Telephone: (+62 21) 5730216, 57303780
Fax: (+62 21) 5700226
Email for
the Secretary General at the Ministry of Forestry:
Email: sekjen@dephut.cbn.net.id
Members of Indonesian House of
Representatives Committees III and VIII
Telephone: (+62
21) 5715-530
Fax: (+62 21) 5715-532
Email: humas-dpr@dpr.go.id
Also, please write to Australian, American, British and
Canadian embassies
in Jakarta asking them to respect
and support Indonesia’s ban on mining in
protected
areas, instead of selfishly supporting their multinational mining
companies’ financial interests.
* Tell them you support a
coalition of Indonesian organizations that opposes
opening Indonesia’s protected forest areas to mining.
* Tell them their embassies and companies should not
pressure the Indonesian
government to change its laws
to permit mining in protected forest and
conservation
areas. These governments and companies should honor Indonesia’s
ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and
respect
Indonesia’s protected areas.
Australian Embassy in Jakarta,
Indonesia
Attn: Mr. David Ritchie,
Ambassador to Indonesia
Jl. H.R.
Rasuna Said Kav. C15-16, Kuningan,
Jakarta Selatan,
Indonesia 12940
Tel: (+62 21) 2550 5555
Fax: (+62 21) 522 7101
E-mail:
public-affairs-jakt@dfat.gov.au
British Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia
Attn: Mr. Richard Gozney,
Ambassador to Indonesia
British
Consulate General
Deutsche Bank Building 19th floor
Jl Imam Bonjol 80
Jakarta 10310
Tel: (+62 21) 390 7484 (4 lines)
Fax: (+62 21) 316 0858
E-mail:
britemb@attglobal.net
Canadian
Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia
Attn: Mr. Ferry de
Kerckhove,
Ambassador to Indonesia
World Trade Center 6th Floor
Jl.
Jend. Sudirman Kav 29-31
Jakarta, Indonesia 12920
Tel: (+62 21) 2550-7800
Fax: (+62
21) 2550-7811
Email:
canadianembassy.jkrta@dfait-maec.gc.ca
U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia
Attn: Ralph Boyce,
US Ambassador
to Indonesia
Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan 4-5,
Jakarta, Indonesia 10110
Phone
(+62 21) 3435-9000
Fax: (+62 21) 385-7189
PLEASE SEND A COPY OF YOUR LETTERS
TO: tracy@jatam.org
FOR MORE
INFORMATION, PLEASE SEE: www.jatam.org
********************************
Paula Palmer, Program 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
At the request of indigenous
peoples and grassroots organizations, Global
Response
organizes international letter-writing campaigns to help
communities prevent environmental
destruction. Young people and adults in
92
countries participate in these very effective campaigns.
To request Global Response Action
alerts by mail or email, or to make a
tax-deductible
donation, please visit http://www.globalresponse.org
To: Forest Activists
Fr: Jason Tockman, American Lands Alliance
Date: June 23, 2003
Now soliciting interest in the --
=======================================
FTAA SPEAKING TOUR
October 2003 in
U.S. Southeast, on the road to Miami
=======================================
A series of presentations on the
proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas
(FTAA) --
including speakers from Chile, Mexico, and the U.S., -- will
expose the perils of expanding NAFTA to the entire western
hemisphere. The
tour is organized to build momentum for
the FTAA Minister's Meeting in Miami
(November 19-21),
with the target states of Florida and Georgia, although
programs will likely also be held in adjacent states. The
sponsoring
groups*, representing a range of
globalization issues, are in the process of
identifying
where there is local interest to host a program. Please let me
know if you would like to have the FTAA Speaking Tour come
to your city;
send me an e-mail at
tockman@americanlands.org.
The
events will feature:
INDIGENOUS
FOREST ACTIVIST FROM CHILE
Widespread conversion of
Chile's globally significant temperate rainforests
into
non-native plantations of pine and eucalyptus threaten Chile's unique
biological diversity and indigenous Mapuche communities. A
Mapuche speaker
will explore the loss of native land
and water to industrial forestry, and
the struggle to
preserve their way of life and the forests that sustain
them. With Chile's 30 years of "free trade" policies, the
plight of its
forests and indigenous communities
showcase the perils of unrestrained
global trade.
SMALL-SCALE FARMER FROM MEXICO
Mexico's small farmers have suffered disproportionately
under NAFTA's
regressive agricultural chapter. Millions
have been displaced from small
plots of land and forced
to migrate to the U.S. in search of jobs. Today
over
nine million undocumented workers labor under demeaning conditions
without legal rights, and the numbers grow every year. US
family farms are
in danger of disappearing forever as
corporate producers impose their agenda
on the rest of
us. Hear testimony on NAFTA's impact in the Mexican
countryside directly from a representative of small
farmers.
U.S. LABOR AND
ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS
NAFTA has been a disaster for
labor and environmental protections in the
U.S., and
the FTAA promises to be worse. Hear from Jason Tockman of the
American Lands Alliance and Tom Hansen of the Alliance for
Responsible Trade
on the direct threat posed by the
FTAA to protections that often required
generations of
struggle to win. Jason and Tom will provide an overview of
the FTAA, with special focus on environmental protections,
labor rights and
fundamental democratic principles.
Presentations will include a
"public hearing" component, during which local
participants will be invited to express their thoughts on
global trade
issues.
* The FTAA Speaking Tour is sponsored by the Alliance for
Responsible Trade,
Witness for Peace, American Lands
Alliance, ForestEthics and the Mexico
Solidarity
Network.
---------------------------------------------
Jason Tockman, Director
International Trade Program
American Lands Alliance
PO Box 555
Athens, OH 45701
(740)
594-5441
Burger King likes to say that customers can "have it their
way," but
none of the ways to order a Whopper includes
the option of meat
raised without unnecessary
antibiotics.
After receiving
tens of thousands of letters from UCS members, Burger
King rival McDonald's recently took the lead in the
fast-food
industry by announcing an initiative
requiring its poultry suppliers
to phase out the use of
antibiotics for growth promotion and
instituting a
monitoring system to ensure compliance.
Tell Burger King CEO Bradley Blum to act in the interest of
public
health and meet or exceed McDonald's new
standards.
TAKE ACTION!
To automatically send the letter
below to Burger King, hit "Reply"
and then "Send", in
your email program.
To
personalize your letter, or to learn more about this campaign,
visit: http://www.ucsaction.org/index.asp?step=2&item=2710
*****************
Letter:
Dear Mr. Blum,
I am writing to urge Burger King to meet or exceed the
standards set
by industry leader McDonald's by adopting
a company-wide plan to
reduce and monitor the use of
unnecessary antibiotics by your meat
suppliers.
As you know, on June 19, 2003,
McDonald's announced an initiative to
phase out the
purchase of poultry products raised with antibiotics
for growth promotion, encourage reductions in antibiotic
use in pork
and beef production, and institute a
monitoring program to ensure
suppliers' compliance.
Antibiotic resistance is a growing
public health crisis. More than
70% of all antibiotics
and related drugs produced in the United
States are fed
to farm animals for nontherapeutic purposes like
growth
promotion and routine disease prevention. The efficacy of
these life-saving drugs for human use is being compromised
in the
name of animals and profits that get fatter
faster.
As one of the nation's
largest purchasers of meat, Burger King shares
responsibility for the overuse of antibiotics in meat
production and
the related rise in the spread of
antibiotic-resistant disease in
humans. I urge you to
require your meat suppliers to reduce
antibiotic use
for both growth promotion and disease prevention and
to
institute a monitoring system to ensure compliance by your
suppliers.
I look forward to hearing an announcement from you on this
crucial
matter in the near future.
Sincerely,
[your name and addresss will be
inserted here]
Important leatherback sea turtle nesting grounds are
threatened
by new mega resorts on Puerto Rico's
overdeveloped coast.
Take action! Urge the U.S. Fish
& Wildlife Service to
protect this tropical coastal
habitat and its wildlife.
***************************
Environmental Defense
take action
for the environment...online
***************************
Take action or get more
information:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/leatherback/8857sdra783btm
Spread the word:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/leatherback/forward/8857sdra783btm
Take action by July 4, 2003
---------------------------------------------------------------
* Help Save Leatherback Sea Turtles From New Caribbean
Mega Resorts *
Puerto Rico's
fragile tropical coast -- already jam packed
with half
empty tourist resorts -- may get a few more.
The
Northeastern Ecological Corridor (NEC) in Puerto Rico
is one of the most important nesting sites for leatherback
sea turtles. Yet this critical turtle nesting ground is
being eyed by developers as the site of a new mega
resort
complex to be built by the Four Seasons Resorts
and Marriott
International. Despite letters from over
22,000 Environmental
Defense e-mail activists last
August opposing this resort,
project plans continue to
threaten the extinction of leatherback
sea turtles in
Puerto Rico. Take action! Urge the U.S.
Fish &
Wildlife Service to oppose this resort development
and
to protect the NEC and its turtle nesting grounds.
Take action:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/leatherback/8857sdra783btm
---------------------------------------------------------------
RESPOND VIA THE WEB:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/leatherback/8857sdra783btm
Your letter will be addressed
and sent to:
Caribbean Field Office
Mr. Craig Manson
----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],
I oppose the construction of new
hotel and resort developments
in Puerto Rico's
Northeastern Ecological Corridor (NEC).
This threatened
coastline is one of the Caribbean's last
great
unprotected areas, and home to over 40 endangered,
threatened, and endemic species, including the leatherback
sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea).
I am particularly concerned about
the San Miguel-Four
Seasons Resort and the Dos
Mares-J.W. Marriott Resort,
which the USFWS has advised
would destroy the most important
nesting habitat for
leatherbacks in the main island of
Puerto Rico,
jeopardizing the continued survival and recovery
of
these species.
Given the negative impacts these resorts would have, I
request the USFWS to issue a formal Endangered Species
Act finding that these projects would jeopardize the
continued
existence of the sea turtle species that make
use of the
NEC.
Thank you.
----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----
Sincerely,
On
June 19th, we had our first big victory in the fight to overturn the FCC's
decision to weaken media ownership rules when the Senate Commerce Committee
approved a bi-partisan proposal that we support, S. 1046, that would reinstate
the previous limit on how many TV stations a media giant can own. The committee
also approved, with minor changes, an amendment reinstating the ban on
cross-ownership between the dominant newspaper and television station in most
markets.
This happened in part
because of the public outcry over the FCC's decision and the large number of
people contacting the FCC and their U.S. Senators.
I will keep you informed of where this legislation stands
in the Senate, but for now the focus shifts to the U.S. House.
The powerful chairman of the House
Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), still supports the FCC
decision. After the Senate committee vote, Bloomberg News reported that Rep.
Tauzin had vowed to "kill" the Senate bill if it were sent over to the House.
Despite over 146 sponsors for the House version of the Senate bill, HR 2052,
Rep. Tauzin has blocked its consideration in his committee.
Please take a minute to ask your
representative to support this legislation and urge Rep. Tauzin and Speaker
Hastert to let the House vote on the important issue of who controls the public
airwaves. Then, ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this e-mail to
them.
To take action, click on
this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=28&id4=ES
The
Supreme Court, in its most important ruling on broadcasting, once said that the
"rights of the viewers and listeners are paramount." Three FCC commissioners -
Chairman Michael Powell, Kevin Martin and Kathleen Abernathy - voted against the
public interest on June 2 and for the financial interests of a handful of
corporate media giants.
As you
recall, on June 2, the FCC voted 3-2 to weaken the public interest rules that
limit how many TV stations a media giant can own and prevent conglomerates from
owning newspapers and TV stations in the same market, despite receiving more
than one million citizen comments in opposition to these changes.
Unless their action is overturned,
the FCC has handed over our publicly owned airwaves to huge media conglomerates
without getting anything in return - no commitment for better news reporting, no
commitment to cover local issues, no commitment to present unbiased information,
no meaningful commitment for more children's programming, no commitment for
anything in the public interest. If allowed to stand, these changes will have a
negative effect on the variety of news, the amount of local news and culture,
and the diversity of views presented to viewers and listeners.
Allowing a merger between a
dominant newspaper and a large TV station in local communities across the
country, as the FCC does, is likely to create news giants that stifle reporting
of local or different points of view. Such a news and information giant is a
frightening prospect for democracy. Public policy should err in favor of more
competition, not less, so communities around the nation can enjoy a greater
diversity of viewpoints so critical to democratic dialogue and debate.
On June 19, the Senate Commerce
Committee approved a bi-partisan proposal that we support, S. 1046 sponsored by
Sen. Stevens (R-AK) and Sen. Hollings (D-SC), to reinstate the 35 percent limit
on the size of an audience the nation's largest broadcasters may control
nationwide, reversing the FCC's change to 45%. The committee also approved, with
minor changes, an amendment from Sen. Dorgan (D-ND) reinstating the ban on
cross-ownership between the dominant newspaper and television station in most
markets.
I will keep you
informed of where this legislation stands in the Senate, but for now the focus
shifts to the U.S. House where Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), the powerful chairman
of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, still supports the FCC decision.
After the Senate committee vote, Bloomberg News reported that Rep. Tauzin had
vowed to "kill" the Senate bill if it were sent over to the House. Despite over
146 sponsors for the House version of the Senate bill, HR 2052, Rep. Tauzin has
blocked its consideration in his committee.
Please take a minute to ask your representative to support
this legislation and to urge Rep. Tauzin and Speaker Hastert to let the House
vote on the important issue of who controls the public airwaves. Then, ask your
family and friends to help by forwarding this e-mail to them.
To take action, click on this link
or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=28&id4=ES
Sincerely,
Gene Karpinski
U.S. PIRG Executive Director
GeneK@uspirg.org
http://www.USPIRG.org
P.S. Thanks again for
your support. Please feel free to share this with your family and
friends.
 | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
To: All Activists
Fr: American Lands Alliance & National Forest Protection Alliance
Date: June 25, 2003
Call to Action: Participate in the National Call-in Day (July 16) National
Day of Truth (July 23)
The so-called "Healthy Forests Restoration Act," HR 1904, is moving fast in
the Senate and could be headed to the Senate floor as early as the third
week in July. It is up to us to call on our elected leaders to stand up and
protect forests and to stop the reckless assault on our National Forests
pushed forward by the Bush Administration and many in Congress. Senators
must block HR 1904 from moving forward this year in the Senate.
Frankly, many Senators have bought into the Administration's rhetoric that
it is environmentalists that cause fires due to appeals and litigation
rather than decades of Forest Service mismanagement. Many Senators have
signaled their willingness to vote to cut out our rights to comment on
projects on our public lands, to appeal projects, and to seek redress in the
courts for environmentally degrading and illegal projects. It is the Forest
Service that continues to violate the law by illegally logging our national
forests, building miles of new roads, and suppressing over 98% of fires
across the landscape -- all activities that continue to increase fire risks
and exacerbate restoration needs. It is the Forest Service's illegal
activities, all counter to any notion of "forest health" that will continue
to go unchecked if the Senate passes this legislation.
We need to step up the pressure. Please mark your calendars, participate,
and activate all of your networks for the National Call in Day on July 16
and the National Day of Truth on July 23. More detailed talking points and
templates for the National Day of Truth will be provided next week.
National Call in Day -- July 16, 2003 . The goal of the National Call in
Day is to get as many calls and faxes as we possibly can to the Senate to
block efforts to pass the Bush Administration's Healthy Forests Initiative.
You or you members can call the Senate toll free at 1-800-839-5276. For
more background information, factsheets and materials please go to:
http://www.americanlands.org/activist_materials_packet.htm
National Day of Truth -- July 23, 2003. The goal of the National Day of
Truth is to get timber sales, bogus "forest health" and illegal hazardous
fuels reduction profiles, photos, and details to the Senate. We hope we can
swamp the Senate offices (both mail and fax machines) with photos, profiles
and details about the truth documenting what the Forest Service and the BLM
are doing on our forests, and why more citizen participation, not less, is
needed. A sample template for faxes and mail in picture letters will be
provided next week. It is possible to access your Senators' web pages to
find fax numbers, email addresses and snail mail addresses at:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Please do consider activating your networks and really helping making these
two really important call to actions a success!!!
Lisa Dix
National Forest Program Director
American Lands Alliance
ldix@americanlands.org
Ph: 202-547-9105; Fax: 202-547-9213
In this issue: urgent action needed to free the Rainbow Warrior; radioactive materials in Iraqi homes; thanks for your help saving Whales; order your own Greenpeace "Most Wanted" playing cards; the toxic industry of Shipbreaking; help strengthen EU chemical legislation; and Greenpeace wins a Webby!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Urgent action needed: Help Free the Rainbow Warrior
Following a recent non-violent, peaceful protest, against the destruction of African forests, the Spanish Government detained our flagship. They've offered to let us buy the ship's freedom with a Euro 300,000 in bond, along with a promise to undertake no more marine actions for the environment in Spanish waters. Never!
Help the Rainbow Warrior get back to the business of protecting forests, and tell the authorities they can't silence our voices. Please act now:
http://act.greenpeace.org/ams/e?a=825&s=forest_skin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Greenpeace 'Most Wanted' Playing Cards
Back by popular demand, these limited edition playing cards are a spoof on the 'Iraq most wanted' deck. They name and shame world leaders who are sitting on the true weapons of mass destruction – nuclear weapons; and contain easy-to-understand nuclear facts, one per card. Join Greenpeace with a regular monthly gift of $10 or more, or a single gift of $40 or more, and we'll send you a complimentary pack. Click here for more: https://www.greenpeace.com/forms/cards/
If you're already a donor, you can purchase up to 10 packs for just $15 each, including free shipping and handling to anywhere in the world. Click here to order: https://www.greenpeace.com/forms/deck/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Be a voice for a toxic free future
The EU is currently considering new rules to control toxic chemicals. Make your voice heard for strong laws on toxic chemicals during the consultation period. Sign up for a toxic free future here before July 8th:
http://www.chemicalreaction.org/
Find out more and comment here:
http://act.greenpeace.org/1055339679/index_html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Radioactive materials in Iraq
We sent a team in to the former nuclear facility in Tuwaitha, Iraq, several weeks ago to monitor reports that radioactive materials are present in the local community. We expected things to be bad, but what we found exceeded some of our worst fears.
We found radioactive sources near schools. We found sources up to 10,000 times background radiation being used as housing material -- sources which in two hours would expose a resident to a year's maximum dose for a radiation worker in the UK, and which have been present for six weeks in homes with children.
We believe the IAEA should be admitted back into Iraq by the occupying forces immediately and without conditions or restriction, to assess the levels of radioactive contamination, secure the sources, and make recommendations to the United Nations for responses from the World Health Organisation and other appropriate international authorities.
This is a catastrophe which would be met with an immediate evacuation and decontamination if it happened in the US or the UK. The response should be no less urgent becuase it is happening in Iraq. You can read more about what we found at
http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/news/details?item_id=285508
You can also read our team's ongoing weblog about the mission at http://weblog.greenpeace.org/iraq
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shipbreaking
In May we asked for your help to prevent a ship breaking yard being built in a West African nature reserve. Over 5000 of you have responded so far. The UN body responsible, UNESCO, are now sending a research mission to the area to assess the situation. Now we need you to keep up the pressure by sending a new letter:
http://act.greenpeace.org/ams/e?a=766&s=ship
Find out more and comment here:
http://act.greenpeace.org/1054814589/index_html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And finally, two items from the Good News Department:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whales survive meeting!
Thanks to everyone who called on new International Whaling Commission member Belize to maintain its tradition of supporting conservation, and to everyone who adopted a whale via our German and Australian cyberactions.
Japan failed to achieve enough votes to undermine the current moratorium on commercial whaling, and the International Whaling Commission voted to create a new body dedicated to a wide range of whale conservation issues, from toxic waste to the impacts of climate change on the whales' ocean home.
Greenpeace volunteers from all over Germany helped ensure that the Berlin meeting of the International Whaling Commission was front and centre of the public's attention, and our Cybercentre Oceans folks, especially Anne, Blu, Echo, Paul, Tig, and Quetzal led lively reportage and commentary on a daily basis at http://act.greenpeace.org.
Well done, everybody! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Greenpeace Wins a Webby!
Hooray!!!! THANKS to everyone who voted for the Greenpeace website in the 7th Annual Webby Awards. While the academy selection went to our worthy friends http://www.actforchange.com, we won the higher prize, in our view: the People's Voice award for Activism. We're delighted that so many people voted for our brand of community-based cyberactivism, and here's our virtual toast: For all of you who make the Cybercentre effective, engaging, educational, and fun with your actions and your posts, THANKS from all of us. We all won this award together. Cheers!
VISIT THE CYBERCENTRE
Please don't forget to visit the Greenpeace Cyberactivist Community at:
http://act.greenpeace.org
Next Monday, the World Heritage Committee will meet in Paris to consider a Bush
administration request that international protection for Yellowstone National
Park be downgraded.
I urge you to contact the World Heritage Committee immediately and call on it
to reject this irresponsible proposal. You can send an electronic message right
now by going to http://www.savebiogems.org/yellowstone/takeaction.asp
The World Heritage Committee is charged with conserving hundreds of humankind's
most extraordinary natural and cultural treasures. Nineteen of those wild
places -- including Yellowstone -- have been elevated to the committee's In
Danger list, which helps trigger action when a World Heritage site is
threatened with destruction or serious degradation.
Yellowstone needs world protection now more than ever, and the Bush
administration is the main reason why. At the bidding of oil giants, cattle
barons and other special interests, the administration is unleashing a series
of devastating attacks on Greater Yellowstone and its greatest living symbols.
Administration officials are inviting energy and logging companies to despoil
pristine wildlife habitats that surround and buffer the park. They are
preparing to strip wolves and grizzly bears of endangered species protection, a
disastrous decision that would leave those animals just outside the park
vulnerable to hunting and extermination.
Last winter the administration rounded up more than 200 of Yellowstone's wild
bison -- better known as American buffalo -- and sent them off to a
slaughterhouse. Next year, they may kill hundreds more.
And bowing to pressure from the International Snowmobile Manufacturers
Association, the administration overruled a National Park Service plan that
would have banned thousands of snowmobiles that roar through the park every
winter, spewing air pollution and harassing its wildlife.
With the Bush administration putting corporate interests ahead of our greatest
national park, this is the worst possible time for the World Heritage Committee
to consider reducing its protection. Yellowstone needs more worldwide attention
and action, not less.
Next week, NRDC will be on hand in Paris to make our case against the Bush
administration's proposal. Our case for Yellowstone will be even stronger if
the World Heritage Committee hears from thousands of people like you
beforehand.
Please make your voice heard right now by going to
http://www.savebiogems.org/yellowstone/takeaction.asp
and sending your message on behalf of Yellowstone to the World Heritage
Committee. Thank you.
Sincerely,
John H. Adams
President
Natural Resources Defense Council
. . .
BioGems: Saving Endangered Wild Places
A project of the Natural Resources Defense Council
http://www.savebiogems.org
Alaska Gov. Frank
Murkowski has signed legislation to allow hunters to kill
wolves from airplanes and helicopters as a part of a renewed
to reduce the population of the animals over huge areas of
central Alaska. Hunters in planes search for wolves, "buzz"
the pack, and chase them until the wolves are exhausted. Then
a person shoots from the air or lands and shoots the wolves as
they flounder in the snow. Led by Defenders of Wildlife, the
people of Alaska have twice voted to revoke land-and-shoot in
the last seven years. But certain state officials want wolves
killed to boost moose and caribou herds for hunters. To sign
an online petition to Murkowski expressing your outrage over
this action, go to: 
Two decades after Reagan
Interior Secretary James Watt, his radical agenda is finally
being carried out by his protege Norton. Gutting the
Endangered Species Act, opening wilderness lands to energy
development, logging and motorized recreation, and even ending
the idea of wilderness protection altogether it's all part of
the Bush Interior secretary's grand plan for our environment.
And "despite her early portrayals by environmentalists as
'James Watt in a skirt,' she has shown far more political
acumen" than Watt, writes David Helvarg in The Progressive
magazine. Read the article: 
Environmentalists failed to
persuade the International Whaling Commission to establish two
new ocean sanctuaries for the giant mammals. But the
commission, meeting in Berlin, did rebuff Japanese attempts to
lift the international ban on commercial whaling and voted to
appoint a new committee to look for ways to improve
protections for whales. Since the global whaling ban was
adopted in 1985, Japan has used a loophole in international
laws to kill whales under the guise of "scientific research."
To urge President Bush to impose economic sanctions against
Japan for whaling, go to 
Defenders
of Wildlife is teaming up with the Safeway grocery store chain
to help save bears around Lake Tahoe. Safeway has agreed to
distribute special "bear aware" shopping bags that feature
tips on how to live and play in bear country. California's
black bear population has nearly doubled over the past decade,
and the animals are increasingly running into trouble with
humans at campgrounds and elsewhere. Last month, Defenders
helped install 125 bear-proof garbage containers around Tahoe.
"We want to keep the bears alive and wild," said Cynthia
Wilkerson of Defenders of Wildlife's California office.