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House conservatives are pushing yet another bill to
restrict women's access to the full range of reproductive
health care services. Please take a few minutes to
fax your representative and urge her/him to oppose
H.R. 4691, a bill that would seriously endanger the
health--and lives--of women across the United States.

You can take action on this alert either via email
(please see directions below) or via the web at:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/anti_abortion_discrimination_act/ee3bx2v78x865


Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/anti_abortion_discrimination_act/forward/ee3bx2v78x865


We encourage you to take action by November 24, 2002

Don't Let Congress Limit Reproductive Health Care Services!

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/anti_abortion_discrimination_act/ee3bx2v78x865


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 Congressperson

----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

I am writing to urge you to oppose H.R. 4691, the Abortion
Non-Discrimination Act. This deceptive legislation
would allow a broad range of health-care entities to
refuse to comply with existing federal, state, and
local laws and regulations pertaining to reproductive
health services. It would allow any health care entity
(not just religious entities) exemption from the same
laws that govern other health-care providers by claiming
discrimination.

I believe this bill would jeopardize a patient's right
to be informed of all medical options. The real life
result of this legislation would be a gag on information
and a severe restriction of access to abortion for
women. For example, this bill would prevent states
and localities from making sure that when a non-religious
hospital merges with a religious hospital that there
is a guarantee that full reproductive health services
will continue ultimately leaving entire regions or
states without abortion access. It would gut the long-standing
requirement that federally funded health care facilities
provide non-biased counseling about all reproductive
health options. Finally, proponents of this bill may
even try to apply this refusal language to contraception
since they believe many forms of everyday birth control
are abortion.

Recent research shows that the vast majority of Americans
oppose allowing health-care institutions to deny services
based on religious or moral objections. These entities
operate in a secular sphere, and serve people of diverse
backgrounds and faiths. Thus, their claimed right to
refuse to provide these services imposes serious burdens
on people who do not share their religious views. This
law would allow the "conscience" of the entity to trump
the health needs of the women they serve. Women would
be left without access to vital reproductive health
services and in some cases not even told what options
are available to them. This is wrong.

Please vote against this dangerous proposal.

----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----

Sincerely,
name

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

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To:  All Activists
From:  Steve Holmer
Date:  September 24, 2002

Bush Administration/Republican Leadership Pushing Fire Issue to Gut
Environmental Laws, Reduce Public Involvement

With what can only be described as bold-faced lies, the Bush
Administration, the Republican Leadership in Congress and the Forest
Service continue to try use this year's forest fires as an excuse to
suspend environmental laws and eliminate public participation on all
public lands including National Parks, Wildlife Refuges and in some
cases, designated Wilderness areas.  Calls and faxes are urgently needed
to head off harmful legislation and riders being pushed in both the
House and Senate.

The much-heralded Forest Service report that concluded that 48% of all
fuels projects were appealed and litigated has turned out to be a
complete fraud, according to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request
by the National Forest Protection Alliance.  Rather than taking a
systematic written approach and reviewing all varieties of fuel
reduction projects, the Forest Service spent just several hours on the
phone, recorded anecdotal reports from the field about logging projects
that were appealed, and jumped to their phony conclusion.  This report
continues to be held up by the Administration and the Republicans in
Congress as a reason to suspend environmental laws and citizen
participation.

The General Accounting Office (GAO), which completed a much more
thorough review, prompted this slap-dash effort when it concluded that
less than 2% of fuels projects were appealed and none litigated.  And as
more detailed analysis by the Center for Biological Diversity and
American Lands have shown, the projects that are being appealed by
conservationists are, in general, phony fire projects that plan to log
old growth trees, endangered species habitat and are located in areas
far from communities at-risk.  for more information see

http://www.americanlands.org/blowingsmoke.pdf

Enough lies.  Please contact your Representative and Senators at
202/224-3121 and let them know that we want a program for real community
protection - not a new Salvage Logging Rider intended to get the cut
out.

Secret House Fire Negotiations Continue
Reps. George Miller (D-CA), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Mark Udall (D-CO) and
Tom Udall (D-NM) are currently negotiating with Reps. Scott McInnis
(R-CO), John Shadegg (R-AZ) and Greg Walden (R-OR) on a possible House
compromise.  We have not learned any details about these negotiations
but have been assured by several Democratic offices that they do not
support suspending environmental laws.

Please contact these Representatives and very respectfully urge these
pro- environment members to:

1) Support directing 90% of fuel reduction projects to within 1/4 miles
of communities. 2) Support creating a program of block grants to the
states to provide resources for homeowners and communities to create
defensible space and fireproof structures.
3) Oppose any weakening of the National Environmental Policy Act through
the use of categorical exclusions or placing limits on citizen appeal,
judicial review or judicial remedies.
4) Oppose permanent authority for goods for services stewardship
contracts which would encourage more logging

Rep.     Staff   Phone   Fax
Rep. George Miller (D-CA)  Amelia Jenkins 202/225-2095  225-5609
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR)  David Dreher  202/225-6416  225-0032
Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO)  Stan Sloss  202/225-2161  226-7840
Rep. Tom Udall (D-CO)  Tony Martinez 202/225-6190  226-1331
Minority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-MO) Bill Frymoyer 202/225-0100
226-0938

Other Representatives can show their support for community protection by
becoming a cosponsor of H.R. 5358 which targets fuel treatments near
communities and creates a block grant program to help communities and
homeowners, and by opposing H.R. 5319, Rep. Scott McInnis' lawless
logging bill.


Senate Stalemate Continues But We Need to Keep the Pressure On
The situation in the Senate has not changed.  An attempt to break the
filibuster against Sen. Larry Craig's lawless logging amendment failed
yesterday and there is no indication that the harmful compromise
proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) is
attracting support from other Senators.

We are very disappointed that Senators Feinstein and Wyden have proposed
limiting judicial remedies and removed language protecting watersheds
from salvage logging in their amendment. The Sierra Club issued a
strongly worded statement: "We are angered by the destructive logging
plans proposed by the Bush administration and some Senate Republicans,"
the statement read. "We find it similarly disturbing that Sens.
Feinstein and Wyden have chosen to propose their own destructive logging
(plan) instead of working to protect our national forests and
communities by advocating credible measures to curb severe fires."

Oregon and California activists should contact these Senators right away
and urge them to abandon their amendment and support real community
protection.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein Warren Weinstein  202/224-3841  228-3954
Sen. Ron Wyden  Sarah Bittleman  202/224-5244  228-2717

Activists in other states are encouraged to continue contacting your
Senators at 202/224-3121 and urge them to:

1) Oppose the Craig amendment and oppose the Feinstein/Wyden amendment.
2) Support a community protection plan that focuses fuel treatments near
homes and communities
3) Support block grants to the states to provide communities the
necessary resources to create defensible space on private and state
lands and to fire proof structures.

Thanks for all your efforts.

Good Morning,

This was in Aftenposten Newspaper
and I can only hope that they hold fast to this.  However this does not
mean that there will not be "illegal" killing of the wolf.


NO WOLF HUNTS THIS WINTER
9/23/02

State wildlife officials said Monday that no licenses will be issued for
a wolf hunt this winter. The wolf population already is so decimated
that no hunt can be justified, they say.

Officials at the state Directorate for Wildlife Management said they are
only aware of two wolf pairs that can reproduce. That means there is no
basis for an authorized hunt.

The decision provides for some breathing room in a long-standing quarrel
between Norwegian and Swedish wildlife officials. Both sides had
cooperated in building up southern Scandinavia's once nearly extinct
wolf population, members of which often cross back and forth over the
border.

While the Swedes continued to protect their wolves, Norwegian
authorities started allowing hunts after ranchers complained the wolves
were attacking their free-grazing sheep. The Swedes were furious and are
firmly opposed to hunts.

Ugly incidents also have arisen in Norway in which ranchers are
suspected of laying out poison to intentionally kill wolves.
In other cases, wolves that researchers had marked with transmitters
have disappeared. Officials suspect anti-wolf activists have obtained
equipment that allowed them to track down the wolves instead, and that
the animals were then killed.

Wildlife officials also have proposed using the Glomma River as a
boundary for separating the wolves and domestic animals. Wolves would be
allowed to roam in the area east of the river, while ranchers could
allow their flocks to graze west of the river.

The proposal has received mixed reviews. Wolf activists have
reservations, worrying that such artificial borders can hurt other wild
species and would be unmanageable

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article.jhtml?articleID=404580

Donna Bettinger
U.S. Contact
Scandinavian Joint Action For Wolves
http://www.fellesaksjonenforulv.org/engelskesider/English.htm

Dear U.S. PIRG supporter,

The vast majority of Americans stand united behind strong protections for our
environment. But the Bush administration is helping powerful interests -
including power plant owners and lobbyists from Big Oil - weaken our cornerstone
environmental and public health protections.

Now, the EPA is about to weaken public health protections in the Clean Air Act
that require older industrial facilities to install modern pollution controls
whenever they make major modifications that significantly increase pollution.
Electric utility and refining industries have been seeking to weaken these
protections for years. Many of these same power and refining companies are
being sued by the EPA for breaking the law by massively increasing pollution
without installing the necessary emissions controls. But, under continuing
pressure from industry, the EPA is about to weaken these clean air protections
in ways that could let these polluters off the hook.

Ask your senators to protect vital clean air and public health standards and
stop the EPA from weakening the Clean Air Act. Follow the link below to go to a
web page where you can e-mail your senators.
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=9&id4=ES


BACKGROUND

The US Senate should take the necessary steps to prevent the EPA from weakening
the Clean Air Act's "New Source Review" (NSR) program. NSR requires the oldest
and dirtiest "grandfathered" industrial plants to install modern pollution
controls whenever they make major modifications that significantly increase air
pollution. It is one of the most important tools in the Clean Air Act for
protecting public health from the harmful effects of industrial air pollution.

The changes to NSR that the EPA is about to adopt will make it easier for
polluters to avoid having to install pollution controls. The EPA admits that
the primary benefit of these rule changes is "regulatory relief" for industry,
not public health protection. The EPA also admits that more than half the
industrial plants that must now comply with NSR will be exempt if these rule
changes go through.

Three separate Senate committees have asked the EPA to prove that its changes to
NSR will not result in additional air pollution and public health damage.
Unfortunately, the EPA has refused to even address these important issues until
the rules have already become law. Public health is too important to be dealt
with in such a reckless way.

The EPA should not be allowed to adopt these changes to NSR until there has been
a fair, independent and public review of the impact these rules will have on air
quality and public health. Ask your senators to protect vital clean air and
public health standards and stop the EPA from weakening the Clean Air Act.
Follow the link below to go to a web page where you can e-mail your senators.
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=9&id4=ES

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

  WATER RESOURCES BILL THREATENS RIVERS, WETLANDS AND WILDLIFE

As early as Tuesday of next week, your representative is expected to vote on the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) -- a bill that as currently written could give the Army Corps of Engineers the green light for dozens of water projects that threaten both the environment and taxpayers' wallets. Fortunately, several representatives are expected to offer amendments
to the bill that are intended to redirect the Corps towards a future of environmental restoration, not environmental destruction. Click here to take action.

As early as next Tuesday, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), a bill that, without fundamental reforms, could give the Army Corps of Engineers the go-ahead on dozens of water projects that would destroy critical wildlife resources and waste taxpayer dollars.

WRDA, which typically comes before Congress every two years, authorizes new U.S. Army Corps of Engineers water projects. It is also the legislative vehicle for implementing policy changes that determine the way the Corps plans and develops its projects. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee recently passed a WRDA bill that fails to address the serious and well-documented flaws and weaknesses of the current Corps program. In fact, the committee's version of the bill serves up more of the same old pork barrel projects - $4 billion worth - that are responsible for destruction of much of America's wetlands, estuaries, coasts and rivers.

Thankfully, a few Representatives are willing to offer amendments to the bill, that if passed, will help reign in the Corps and redirect it towards a future of environmental restoration, not environmental destruction. However, it's up to the entire House to include these reforms in the final WRDA bill to help prevent future projects from wasting tax dollars and destroying our environment.

Your representative will have a small window of opportunity on the House floor to consider amendments to the WRDA bill that will help change the future direction of the Corps. Please contact your member today and urge him or her to support fundamental Corps reform amendments to the WRDA bill. These amendments are key to making the Corps a more fiscally and environmentally responsible agency.

Some of the key amendments the House may consider include:
* Requiring independent review of Corps water resources projects by outside experts;
* Modifying the Corps' planning process to better account for environmental impacts;
* Establishing meaningful mitigation requirements to require the Corps to repair the environmental damage caused by its projects; and
* Requiring the Corps to recognize the importance of wetlands when developing projects.

You can reach your representative by calling the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. Just ask to be connected to your representative's office. You can also send an email message directly to your representative from the NWF website by clicking here. Feel free to personalize the suggested text!

Feel free to personalize the suggested text!

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Please let us know you took action by sending an email to alerts@nwf.org. For more information on the NWF's efforts to "green" the Corps of Engineers and for additional ways you can take action, go to: www.nwf.org/greeningcorps.

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

* We look forward to receiving your feedback. Please email us at info@nwf.org or call us at 1-800-822-9919.

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