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From: American Lands Alliance
Date: September 2, 2004
Keep
Those Roadless Comments Flooding In
Tell
the Bush Administration to Protect our National Forests!!
We have only
12 days left to get our
networks and memberships mobilized, and to get individual comments into the
Forest Service to demand roadless area protection. We have set an ambitious
goal of 1 million comments in order to send a clear and powerful message that we
will not tolerate the Bush administration giving our National Forests away to
the timber, mining and oil industries.
Below is an action kit to
help generate 1 million comments to the Bush administration and to keep the
pressure on the administration in the media and in our public outreach
work. Please consider mobilizing
your networks and memberships, circulate alerts, and write stories and/or action
alerts in your newsletters in order to help make this comment drive a
success. You are also encouraged to
contact editorial boards to ask them to write in opposition to the new Roadless
Rule. An editorial board memo
template and letter to the editor talking points are below.
Organizations are encouraged to submit their comments to the Forest Service on letterhead. Below is a link to a comment letter written by Ray Vaughan at WildLaw that may be useful in developing your own comments.
Roadless comments must be
received by the FS Comment Analysis Team in Utah by the 14th of September.
Any
comments received after COB on
September 14th, will NOT be
included in the Forest Service's/Dept of Agriculture's official
count.
The proposed rule is available at http://roadless.fs.fed.us/documents/id_07/2004_07_12_state_petition_proposed_rule.html
The interim directive can be found at http://roadless.fs.fed.us/documents/id_07/07_08_04_draft_id_1920_2004-1.pdf
For more information please
contact:
Anne Martin, American Lands Alliance, annem@americanlands.org
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SaveOurEnvironment.org Action Center Update: September 2, 2004 Your Comments Needed to Protect Forests From Off-Road Vehicles! Registered Users: Simply reply to this email, hit send, and we'll automatically send the message below to the Forest Service. The future of our National Forests and the values they represent are threatened by growing and uncontrolled use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), dirt bikes, snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles. In many National Forests today, off-road vehicles are allowed almost anywhere. The Forest Service reports that more than 273,000 miles of roads and other routes are open to various off-road vehicles. On some forests, ATVs and dirt bikes can travel virtually without limit across hundreds of thousands -- even millions -- of acres. The U.S. Forest Service has proposed a new rule concerning use of ATVs dirt bikes in America's National Forests. Although it represents a step forward, it falls far short. Uncontrolled off-road vehicle use is damaging the land, polluting water, shredding wildlife habitat, and driving many forest visitors away, but the proposal does not clearly require the Forest Service to study the negative impacts of specific roads or routes that could be opened to ATVs, dirt bikes and other vehicles. Take Action Now! The draft rule issued by the Forest Service on July 7 falls far short of what is needed to respond to the growing threat. With your help, we can work to strengthen this proposal. Please send a comment letter to the Forest Service today! Comments must be received by September 13th. Registered Users: Simply reply to this email, hit send, and we'll automatically send the message below to the Forest Service. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Letter Copy: Proposed Rule for Designated Routes and Areas for Motor Vehicle Use c/o Content Analysis Team Email trvman@fs.fed.us Fax (801) 517-1014 Dear Forest Service Chief Bosworth: I urge the Forest Service to significantly strengthen the proposed rule for designated routes and areas for motor vehicle use on our National Forests. While the rule is a step forward, it stops short of what we need to sensibly manage burgeoning and destructive off-road vehicle use on our forests. Indeed, unless it is revised it may succeed only in dissipating the enthusiasm the Chief engendered in his call for immediate action against what he termed one of the four greatest threats confronting our National Forest System. Specifically, I urge you to include provisions in the rule that would: * Require completion of off-road route designations within two years of the rule's effective date; * Allow designation of roads and routes, including any unauthorized or "renegade" routes, only when a thorough process of public participation and site-specific analysis of environmental impacts and user conflicts demonstrates that such use is consistent with the clear criteria of the two extant off-road vehicle Executive Orders; * Immediately prohibit use of all unauthorized "renegade" ATV and dirt-bike routes pending site-specific study and official designation; and, * Require that each forest ensure that it can afford to maintain and manage any system of roads and routes it proposes to designate for off-road vehicular use. I support several elements of the proposed rule, notably those that would prohibit cross country travel, that would allow off-road vehicle use only on roads and routes officially designated as open on use maps, and the finding that forests need neither inventory nor map renegade routes before starting the route designation process. Users created these routes without authorization; they are entitled to no deference in a sensible process of route planning and designation. Indeed, any presumption should be against such routes. Sincerely, [your name inserted here] |
We have only one week left to tell the Forest Service that we want our remaining wild, roadless forests to be protected from road-building, logging and drilling. Thank you for receiving "Action," Care2's periodic Environmental alerts newsletter! The Forest Service needs to hear from you - please take one minute today to sign this petition to protect our remaining wild forests: http://www.care2.com/go/z/16830 ______________________________________ 1. Tell the Forest Service: Protect Our Wild Forests and Wildlife Petition: http://www.care2.com/go/z/16830 Under the Bush administration's new proposed changes to the roadless rule, not a single acre of the 58.5 million acres of roadless areas in the National Forests will be protected nationally, and thus will not be safe from the timber, oil and gas industries. Our roadless wild forests are a national treasure - how can we allow our government to give them away to the highest bidder? Many wildlife species, like grizzly bears, northern spotted owls, and wolverines, depend on roadless forests. Roadless forest areas tend to be our healthiest forests, and even species that have higher tolerance for humans, like wolves and lynx, still rely on remote forest areas. Sign this petition to protect our forests and the wildlife that depend on them: http://www.care2.com/go/z/16830 Incredibly, the administration has already received over 2.5 million public comments in support of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule during previous comment periods, and has chosen to ignore them. So, we need to be louder. The conservation community is trying to gather one million comments to oppose this dangerous proposal. Over 30,000 Care2 members have already submitted comments - help us reach 50,000 today: http://www.care2.com/go/z/16830 ______________________________________ 2. Activist Tip Get informed for November! The election is less than two months away, and the environment is a major issue this year. Environmental issues don't always get the press attention they should, but don't be fooled - there are major differences between the candidates on conservation. Read up on the issues and be an informed voter. And pass the information along to your friends! Read about Kerry vs. Bush on the environment here: http://www.care2.com/go/z/16832 ______________________________________ 3. Inspirational Quote "The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness." - John Muir (1838-1914), botanist, geologist, and founder of the modern conservation movement. ______________________________________ Thank you for acting today! Rebecca, Care2 and ThePetitionSite team http://www.care2.com/go/z/rebecca
Send Our Kids Back to School on Clean Buses As our nation's children head back for another school year, many of them will still be riding on aging, dirty, diesel school buses. Diesel exhaust from school buses is especially dangerous to developing lungs and can cause significant respiratory ailments including bronchitis and asthma. The Environmental Protection Agency's program to clean up buses is currently underfunded, providing insufficient investment for schools across the nation that seek cleaner buses. Please tell your senators to send our kids back to school on better buses by supporting a comprehensive federal grant program and fully funding the administration's $65 million request for 2005 clean school bus grants. TAKE ACTION: To automatically send the letter below to your Senators, hit "Reply" and then "Send", in your email program. To customize your letter, learn more about the issue, or if this message was forwarded to you visit, http://www.ucsaction.org/ctt.asp?u=44389&l=53421 READ THE LETTER: Dear Senator, As our children prepare themselves for another school year, I am writing to urge your leadership in ensuring that the buses they ride on are clean and safe. Too many school buses in our state, and around the country have antiquated diesel engines with little if any emissions control equipment. Diesel soot is known to cause and exacerbate a variety of respiratory illnesses, including asthma. Children are particularly vulnerable as developing lungs are more susceptible to the harmful impacts of diesel soot. According to the EPA nearly one in thirteen school-aged children now have asthma (as opposed to one in twenty in 1998). Asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism due to chronic illness, accounting for over 14 million missed school days every year. The notion that our own school buses are contributing to this epidemic is simply unacceptable. The federal government has noted this problem with the creation of the EPA's Clean School Bus USA grant program, but the $5 million per year funding was immediately overwhelmed by over $60 million in requests from around the country. The House Appropriations Committee recently approved an increase to $10 million per year, but that increase is simply not sufficient, nor does the funding require an appropriate balance between replacing our oldest, dirtiest school buses and retrofitting newer buses with appropriate diesel cleanup technologies. As you return from your summer recess, please remember the children returning to school and lend your support to the administration's full $65 million request for this program, as well as legislative language to ensure that clean school bus grants are distributed and evaluated properly. I look forward to hearing from you on this matter. Sincerely, (your name and address will be inserted)
The administration has just announced a new proposal that would more than double the number of noisy, polluting snowmobiles careening through Yellowstone National Park over the next three years. The National Park Service has already warned that so many snowmobiles would harass the park's wildlife, threaten visitors and employees with cancer-causing chemicals and cause so much noise that people should wear earplugs inside the park. Please go to http://www.savebiogems.org/yellowstone/takeaction.asp?step=2&item=52259 right now and send a message telling the Park Service to keep polluting snowmobiles out of Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. Last winter, tens of thousands of snowmobiles descended on Yellowstone, producing more pollution in a single weekend than all the cars in the park produce during a full year. It's been nearly four years since the Park Service called for replacing the destructive machines with park-friendly snowcoaches. And the overwhelming majority of citizen comments have supported that phase-out of snowmobiles. But the administration has caved in to pressure from the snowmobile industry and now plans to increase dramatically the size of the annual snowmobile invasion. Our national parks belong to the American people, not to the snowmobile industry. Please go to http://www.savebiogems.org/yellowstone/takeaction.asp?step=2&item=52259 and tell the Park Service to obey the will of the people and protect Yellowstone from snowmobiles. The Park Service is taking public comments only until September 20th so please send your message today! 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
Under court order, the Bush administration recently released their draft Federal Salmon Plan. The new administration plan for the Columbia and Snake rivers ignores science, wastes taxpayer dollars, further imperils endangered salmon, and could set a precedent that makes it difficult to recover other endangered species. Please take a minute to send a letter urging the Bush administration to do what is right - follow the science, recover wild salmon, and revive salmon-related jobs and economies. Submit Your Comment Today! Now is the time to tell the Bush administration to scrap their weak draft plan and write a Federal Salmon Plan that will recover wild salmon and steelhead to abundant, self-sustaining, fishable levels. Such a plan must, at the very least, allow planning for the removal of the four lower Snake River dams. Please click here to take action to protect and restore wild Snake River salmon. http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/ctt.asp?u=27370&l=54299 Thank you for taking action to save America's rivers! Sincerely, Rebecca Wodder President, American Rivers September 10, 2004
***Come Visit American Lands Alliance's New Website!***
Newly updated and retooled, www.americanlands.org is
an in-depth, extensive resource for forest activists.
To: Northeast Activists
From: John Demos, American Lands Alliance
demos@americanlands.org
To: Northeast Activists
From: John Demos, American Lands Alliance
Date: September 10, 2004
ROADLESS COMMENT PERIOD EXTENDED UNTIL NOVEMBER 15th!!!!
Although they are probably just pushing this back to avoid more bad
press, the Bush Administration has given us two more months to comment on
The National Forest Roadless Policy.
What they don’t realize is that the bad press will continue anyway.
Please check out American Lands website for all the info you will need
to write a letter.
Letters to the editor are needed as well. If you can get me a copy of
any letters printed, I’d appreciate it.
John
Bush Administration Cedes Comment Period Extension!
Let's Get A Million Comments In for Roadless Protection
Comment Packet and National Events
The Bush administration has extended the comment period on the new
Roadless Rule to November 15, 2004! We have set an ambitious goal of 1
million comments in order to send a clear and powerful message that we
will not tolerate the Bush administration giving our National Forests away
to the timber, mining and oil industries. Keep writing to help reach
this goal!!!
Please go to the American Lands Roadless Comment Drive Organizing
Action Tool-Kit to view sample comment letters, sample letters to the
editor, a sample editorial board memo, an analysis of the new Bush roadless
rule and a link to the new rule. We need to keep the pressure on the
administration by generating more comments and media attention on the new
Roadless Rule.
On September 14, 2004 there are going to be a number of events across
the country in order to demonstrate that the American public
resoundingly rejects the Bush administration's efforts to repeal the 2001 Roadless
Rule. If you haven't already linked into these activities (information
below) please consider doing so. If you are not participating in a
local event in your area consider writing a letter to the editor on
September 14, 2004 expressing your disappointment with the Bush
administration for attempting to repeal the Roadless Rule.
The extension of the comment period past the national election is a
clear indication that the roadless issue has become a problem for the Bush
administration. On September 14th events are being organized in DC and
around the country to continue to call attention to the Bush
administration’s plan to log our remaining roadless wild forests. Groups are
encouraged to participate in events that are already being planned as well
as organize other press events or rallies to demonstrate broad public
support for roadless area protection, calling attention to your states’
contribution to the goal of 1 million comments.
Events are being planned in the following states: AZ, TX, WV, TN, FL,
NM, NV, NH, ME, PA, IL, MI, MN, AR, NC, ID, CO, OR, WA, WI, NJ, CA, LA,
VA, AK.
To get involved contact Seth Horstmeyer, shorstmeyer@net.org,
202-887-8800.
We take no satisfaction in being the ones to say, “We told you so.”
Yesterday, a Shell-contracted vessel ran aground at Sakhalin Island, off Russia’s eastern coast, spilling 200 tons of heavy fuel oil and diesel into Sakhalin’s coastal waters. Please read Pacific Environment’s press release, below, and take a moment to send one more letter to stop public financing for Shell’s oil development at Sakhalin, which threatens the critically endangered Western Gray Whale and one of the world’s last remaining wild salmon fisheries.
See background information and a model letter at http://www.globalresponse.org/gra.php?i=1/04. Thanks for every letter you write!
BREAKING STORY
Sakhalin Oil Spill Spreads as Shell’s Response Falters
9 September 2004
For more information:
Doug Norlen: 202/785-8700, #31, or dnorlen@pacificenvironment.org
David Gordon: 510/541-5334, or dkgordon@pacificenvironment.org
Rory Cox: 415/399-8850 x302, or rcox@pacificenvironment.org
San Francisco, CA: A Shell Oil-contracted dredging vessel spilled as much as 200 tons
of heavy fuel oil and diesel after running aground near Russia’s Sakhalin Island during a typhoon. The incident occurred about 9:40pm September 8, Sakhalin time. According to a press release from the Sakhalin Energy Investment Company (a consortium led by Shell, and including Mitsubishi, and Mitsui), oil spill response crews only arrived on September 9 at 7:00 a.m., 9 hours later. High seas and heavy winds are currently hampering clean up efforts.
Local and
international conservation groups are responding with outrage, noting that Shell and the Western banks that may finance the project have been warned for years about the high risk of spills and gross inadequacy of the project’s oil spill response plans. “What will it take before Shell and the banks that might finance the project realize how serious these problems are?" said Doug Norlen, Policy Director for Pacific Environment.
According to local environmentalists from
Sakhalin Environment Watch who visited the site, fuel oil and diesel has contaminated approximately 5 kilometers of coastline, including the waters of the two seaports, Kholmsk’s city beaches, and Primorsky Boulevard, which runs along the coast. The air is filled with fumes, and Kholmsk residents are being warned to not go near the site to avoid poisoning. The contaminated area is just 300 meters from local residences.
The vessel, the Cristoforo Colombo, is now
grounded near Kholmsk, between the Kholmsk Fishing Port and the Kholmsk Commercial Marine Port and may be continuing to leak fuel. Kholmsk is on the Southwest end of Sakhalin.
The incident occurred approximately 600 kilometers from the location of Shell’s oil spill response equipment and Ecoshelf, the contractor for oil spill response. More than 20 hours after the spill, no spill response equipment had yet been deployed and no spill response vessel had arrived on
scene in spite of the fact that according to Russian regulations, spill response equipment should be on site within 4 hours. As of the evening of September 9 local time, spill response efforts consisted of approximately 30 people cleaning up the shore with shovels.
The Cristoforo Colombo, designed for dredging and for laying pipelines, was being used earlier this summer by the Shell-operated Sakhalin Energy to build an underwater pipeline near the Lunsky
marine oil deposit off the northeast coast of Sakhalin. According to Sakhalin Environment Watch, the captain of the Colombo was warned of the advancing storm and advised to leave the port for higher waters. However, for reasons that are unclear, he did not move the ship. According to Sakhalin Environment Watch, the captain has refused to answer inquiries about the accident.
Oil Companies Were Warned
Environmentalists around the world as well as
Sakhalin residents are outraged at the incident, and are demanding that Shell, as well as their project partners, Mitsubishi and Mitsui, take full responsibility for the spill.
US-based Global Response is urging citizens around the world to write to the U.S. Export-Import Bank to block financing for the second phase of Shell’s Sakhalin project. “Shell’s plans don’t adequately protect the critically endangered Western Gray Whale, nor Sakhalin Island’s wild salmon habitat” says Global Response Program Director Paula Palmer. “The project should not be funded unless it can guarantee no negative impact on the whales.” Shell and its partners seek up to $5 billion in public financing from institutions including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Export Credit Agencies of the U.S., U.K., and Japan
The Sakhalin projects have been mired in controversy from their inception. Sakhalin Island is infamous for its’ severe climate, with regular typhoons, and with waters that are iced over about half the year. It is also one of the most seismically active areas on the Pacific Rim. At stake in Sakhalin’s waters is a pristine
marine environment that supports a fishing industry that accounts for about 1/3rd of the local economy. Last night’s impact on Sakhalin’s fisheries is still unknown.
Five years ago, Pacific Environment and Sakhalin Environment Watch published an independent report called “Sakhalin’s Oil: Doing It Right,” which outlined specific steps needed to raise Sakhalin Island’s oil spill prevention and response standards to world standards. The report was
produced by three renowned experts in oil spill prevention and response from Alaska and the North Sea. Unfortunately, neither Shell nor the Sakhalin government took significant action to implement these recommendations.
“Shell has refused to adopt necessary oil spill prevention measures that would keep spills like this from happening,” said David Gordon, Executive Director of Pacific Environment, a California-based environmental organization that is monitoring
Sakhalin offshore oil development. “Now that the oil is in the water, it’s too late to clean it up. The damage has been done. It is a tragedy for Sakhalin Island and especially for the people of Kholmsk.”
Critics of the Sakhalin projects claim that an Exxon-Valdez size spill on the island is possible, given the conditions on the island, and the lack of an adequate response plan. They have also pointed out that Shell and ExxonMobil are cutting corners on oil
spill response and other safety measures, and that the standards used are inferior to those in places like Alaska or the North Sea.
Sakhalin is home to one of the world’s most endangered whales, the Western Pacific Grey Whale, which numbers around 100. While last night’s spill occurred several hundred kilometers away from whale habitat, critics of the project claim that an oil spill could just as easily happen near where these whales feed and migrate.
Earlier this year you received information on the Cumberland Island National Seashore Wilderness Boundary Act of 2003 (S. 1462), a bill sponsored by Georgia Senators Saxby Chambliss (R) and Zell Miller (D) that will split this already small Wilderness area in two by removing the existing Wilderness protection from large corridors for vehicular access, and establishing motorized concession tours. It would also set a precedent by being the first de-designation of Wilderness in a national park in the lower 48 states. In 1972 Cumberland Island was set aside as a National Seashore to "be permanently preserved in its primitive state." Ten years later, the northern half of the island was designated as Wilderness or potential Wilderness. Now, on the 40th anniversary of The Wilderness Act, S. 1462 and companion legislation introduced by Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), H.R. 4887, are poised for congressional action. Take Action >> This bill is scheduled for a hearing in the House National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands Subcommittee on September 14, and will also be discussed in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on September 15. It is very important that your senators and representative hear from you! If you have not yet done so, please visit http://www.npca.org/aa.asp?ID=354 to learn more about this important issue and write your Members of Congress today. Thank you for your continued dedication to protecting the wild places at Cumberland Island and throughout the national park system. Elise Russell Liguori Legislative Representative National Parks Conservation Association 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. NPCA's park protection work is made possible by the generous support of people like you. Membership is just $15, and includes a subscription to our award-winning National Parks magazine. Join us today! https://www.npca.org/support_npca Visit us online at http://www.npca.org. If you wish to be removed from this listserve, simply click the following link: http://www.npca.org/r.asp?lngCID=1&lngMTID=1&lngRID=47605
Biodiversity Activist, No. 351 Center for Biological Diversity September 13, 2004 www.biologicaldiversity.org _______________________________ COURT DEALS DEATH BLOW TO BUSH ANTI-CRITICAL HABITAT POLICY (AGAIN) AGREEMENT REACHED TO PROTECT HABITAT FOR PACIFIC ISLAND BIRD SUIT FILED TO END PROTECTION DELAY FOR TWO VIRGIN ISLANDS PLANTS _______________________________ COURT DEALS DEATH BLOW TO BUSH ANTI-CRITICAL HABITAT POLICY (AGAIN) The Bush administration has launched a multi-year public relations assault against the designation and protection of critical habitat. Even though 85% of all endangered species are threatened by habitat loss, the administration has aggressively argued not only that critical habitat designation is useless to endangered species, but also that it can actually hurt them. Its hatchet man on ESA issues, Assistant Secretary of Interior Craig Manson, has ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reprint a canned "disclaimer" attacking critical habitat in all press releases and decisions. Remarkably absent from the disclaimer is any evidence to support the agency's bizarre theory that habitat protection does not help species. When pressed through the Freedom of Information Act, Manson's office admitted that it possessed no evidence. The crux of the administration's "argument" is no less bizarre: since we follow a policy of not protecting critical habitat, it argues, critical habitat must not offer protection to species. In August 2004, however, two courts struck a death blow to the policy. Considering the administration's refusal to protect millions of acres of critical habitat for the desert tortoise in southern California and the northern spotted owl in California, Oregon, and Washington, the courts struck down the policy and ordered the administration to issue new decisions requiring that critical habitat be managed to recover endangered species, not just stave off their extinction. Four federal courts have issued similar decisions since 2001, but the administration ignored them and continued to implement the policy. That strategy has now been solidly rejected by the courts. The desert tortoise case was argued for the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club by Brendan Cummings of the Center and Mike Lozeau of Earthjustice (Stanford). The northern spotted owl case was argued for Gifford Pinchot Task Force and others by Stephanie Parent of the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center (Portland). For more information. http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/press/mojave8-4-04.html _______________________________ AGREEMENT REACHED TO PROTECT HABITAT FOR PACIFIC ISLAND BIRD On 9-8-04 the Center for Biological Diversity reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to designate critical habitat for the Rota bridled white-eye by September 7, 2006. The white-eye is a striking forest bird that occurs only on the island of Rota in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in the western Pacific. Its decline due to habitat loss and exotic species has long been documented by scientists. Environmentalists petitioned the Wildlife Service to place the white-eye on the endangered list in 1980 when more than 11,000 birds still remained--enough to launch an effective, low cost recovery program. But as so often happens, the agency refused to process the petition and instead placed the white-eye on its candidate list, which provides no protection. The species languished on the candidate list for more than 20 years until the Center sued to end the deadly delay. When the species was finally protected in January 2004, fewer than 1,100 birds remained. With this low number, it will be difficult and expensive to recover the white-eye. But although the agency admitted that habitat loss is the primary cause of the white-eye's imperilment, it refused to designate and protect critical habitat for the species. Thus we were forced to file another lawsuit. Critical habitat is an effective means of ensuring that imperiled species recover: data submitted to Congress in multiple reports by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show that species with critical habitat are twice as like to be improving as species without it. Both the listing and critical habitat suits were argued by David Henkin of Earthjustice (Honolulu). For more information http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/press/rota9-8-04.html _______________________________ SUIT FILED TO END PROTECTION DELAY FOR TWO VIRGIN ISLANDS PLANTS On 9-1-04, the Center for Biological Diversity filed suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for repeatedly delaying protection for Agave eggersiana and Solanum conocarpum. Both plants are endemic to the U.S. Virgin Islands and are threatened by residential and tourist development and feral animals. The Agave lives only on the island of St. Croix, where only a handful of plants remain. The Solanum is limited to the island of St. John, where there are approximately 190 plants living in the wild. The government of the Virgin Islands petitioned to list both species in 1996, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as is so often the case, refused to process the petitions to completion. Told of the suit, a biologist at the U.S. Virgin Islands National Park said "I can't believe it's been that long. They're quite endangered because they aren't found anywhere else." The Park Service also asked the Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the species in 1996. A Wildlife spokesperson admitted that species are seldom added to the endangered list without a lawsuit paving the way. The suit is being argued by Robin Cooley of the Center for Biological Diversity/Denver University Law Clinic and Larry Sanders of the Turner Environmental Law Clinic at Emory University School of Law. For more information. http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/press/plants9-1-04.html _______________________________ Click now and become a member of the Center for Biological Diversity, and ensure a future for wildlife and habitat... https://maxvps016.maximumasp.com/V016U45GEB/joinus/joinus.html _______________________________
I'm writing to tell you about a serious threat to the sea turtle population in the Atlantic, and what you can do to help us fight it. We're fighting a legal battle right now to get the National Marine Fisheries
Service to protect threatened loggerhead sea turtles from being killed and injured
by scallop dredges in the mid-Atlantic. We need your support to keep this fight
moving forward! Our goal is to raise $10,000 to support this crucial campaign. You can help protect
threatened loggerheads by making a contribution to Oceana through our Web site:
* Contribute to Oceana's campaign to protect threatened sea turtles!
The Atlantic sea scallop fishery sits off the eastern coast of the U.S., running roughly from New York to North Carolina. Commercial fishermen use large dredges
there to sweep up scallops. Unfortunately, those dredges are also sweeping up an
alarming number of threatened loggerhead sea turtles. Oceana scientists analyzed information provided by the National Marine Fisheries
Service to determine the impact of scallop dredging on sea turtles -- and found
big holes in that information. They found that the government had not accounted
for many areas where turtles may be caught, so we went to the Fisheries Service
and asked them to do something to protect these turtles. They refused. That's right, even when we showed them that their own information
indicates a problem, they still felt that nothing needed to be done. Since they
wouldn't protect this threatened species, we went to the next level: we filed a
lawsuit to close the fishery until the government acts to protect the turtles. A few days ago, the Fisheries Service released a new report that revealed that
the situation was even worse than previously thought. The report increased the
number of "interactions" between fishermen and loggerheads in this fishery from
110 (the number that originally led us to file the lawsuit) to 630 -- an increase
of almost 600%! This makes it even more important that we get protections in place
as soon as possible, before these "interactions" claim the lives of any more sea
turtles. We're working hard to make that happen. But we can't do it without your support --
legal battles are expensive, especially when you're taking on an entire industry! That's why we're asking you to consider contributing to our effort to save these
sea turtles. Our goal to support this sea turtle campaign is to raise $10,000. Now, I know
what you're thinking -- "there's no way that my contribution would make a dent in that!"
But that's not true! You're part of a global movement, more than 170,000 strong. Your
contribution, on top of all those others, can do more than just make a dent -- it can
make the difference!
So don't wait -- stand up with us and protect these loggerhead sea turtles from harm!
* Contribute to Oceana's campaign to protect threatened sea turtles!
Thanks for your support -- and, as always, if you have questions or feedback about this campaign, drop me a line at wavemaker@oceana.org! For the oceans, Jason A. Lefkowitz Manager, E-Activism Oceana
Dear Members of Global Response’s “Quick Response Network:”
Please support this campaign to convince Chile’s government to protect the country’s remaining temperate rainforests. The alert is being circulated by forestethics.org, in collaboration with Chilean environmental organizations.
ACTION ALERT!
Forest Destruction is Government Policy in Chile!
Chile's native forests, dominated by the globally rare Siempre Verde (forever green) forest type, include the world's second largest expanse of temperate rainforest, the Valdivian Rainforest. More than one-quarter of the world's remaining temperate rainforests are in Chile. After eons of biological isolation, these forests are home to the world’s oldest surviving tree species (araucaria araucana), the world’s smallest deer (pudu pudu) and the world famous Alerce tree, also known as the “Chilean redwood” (fitzroya cupressoides).
Tragically, these forests are disappearing after only 40 years of governmental policies begun by Chile’s former dictator, Pinochet. Conservation International has designated Chile’s remaining native forests as one of the world’s Top 25 Biodiversity Hot Spots. The World Wildlife Fund has listed Chile's temperate forests as one of the Southern Hemisphere's top forest ecoregion conservation priorities.
This ecological crisis is the direct result of dictator Pinochet’s forest policies—still embraced by Chile’s government today. The Chilean state pays massive subsidies for ever-expanding single-species plantations of trees, primarily radiata pine, that are not native to Chile. As a result, the world’s largest expanse of radiata pine tree farms has taken the place of what in large part was once Siempre Verde forest.
Worse yet, Chile’s government has been implicated in the corrupt and rampant illegal logging of the “Chilean redwood” Alerce trees. These “disappeared” trees move through a sinister network that, according to recent charges, involved the director of Chile’s forestry agency!
On July 27, environmentalists from several countries converged at the Chilean consulates in Vancouver, BC, and San Francisco, to express the international community’s concern about the Chilean government’s bad forest policies and complicity in illegal logging of Alerce trees. Yet, to date, the government has still failed to keep its agreement to meet with Chilean forest protection groups as they have requested. On September 16 ForestEthics and its allies will increase the pressure on Chile’s government with events planned for the Chilean Embassy in Washington, DC.
YOU CAN HELP with an e-mail and fax blast to Chile’s President Lagos. Send the letter below by e-mail and/or by facsimile to:
E-mail address: opinion@presidencia.cl Facsimile: 011-56-2- 690 49 58
For more information, contact Pat Rasmussen, pat@forestethics.org, 509-548-7640 or
Liz Butler, liz@forestethics.org, 301-864-3244
LETTER:
President Ricardo Lagos
Palacio de la Moneda
Santiago, Chile
Dear President Lagos,
We are writing to express our concern that the Chilean government is failing
to protect Chile's native forests, despite the obvious urgency to do this.
The Chilean government has not been effective in creating policy proposals
that reinforce actions towards conservation and the sustainable management
of the native forests in Chile.
Further, we are aware that the Chilean government is
complicit in illegal
logging of ALERCE (fitzroya cupressoides), a tree species that lives to be
4000 years old and is protected by CITES. The law is now investigating a
case of corruption within CONAF, which shows that there is a clear
abandonment of this governmental institution's inspection duties regarding
the ALERCE.
What is even more serious is the fact that the Ministry of Agriculture
passed a decree six months ago, "in the name of the
President of the
Republic," that removed the protection status of natural monuments of the
most vulnerable and emblematic native species, including the ALERCE.
The native forests of Chile are of great concern to us. They are part of the
rare temperate rainforest ecosystem that extends along the coast from Alaska
to Tierra del Fuego. Temperate rainforests are globally rare, less than 1/5
of one percent of Earth's land mass, and are biologically
rich.
They are found only in Alaska, British Columbia, the Pacific Northwest of
the U.S., Chile, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. The Chilean forests
are quite unique since they have evolved apart from the rest of the
continent and they possess extraordinary endemism within their flora and
fauna.
Linked by our common temperate rainforest ecosystem into a World Temperate
Rainforest Network, we stand by Chileans who are demanding that
the Chilean
government take immediate action to protect Chile's native forests. Also,
the signing of the "Tratada de Libre Comercio" with the United States binds
the Chilean government to enforce its own environmental laws and oversee
what is happening in the forests, or violate the Environmental Chapter (19)
of the US-Chile agreement. This could impact the lucrative US market for
Chilean wood products.
We request:
- An immediate
end to the extraction and commercialization of the ALERCE.
- A native forest management subsidy.
- A modern governmental entity that can respond to the current challenges
and that assures the proper development of the forestry sector.
- A clear, legal prohibition of the practice of replacing native forests
with tree farms. (Amend the proposed native forest legislation so that it
includes a clear prohibition of
conversion/substitution.)
- Creation of a new institution with sufficient legal power and funding to
protect Chile's native forests.
Sincerely,
[ -- End Letter -- ]
*******************************************
Paula Palmer, Program Director
Global
Response
PO Box 7490
Boulder CO 80306 USA
Tel +303/444-0306
Global Response organizes effective international letter-writing campaigns to protect the environment and the rights of indigenous peoples. See action Alerts for adults, teens and children at www.globalresponse.org
You can speak out for the world's tropical forests by urging the U.S. Senate to reauthorize the Tropical Forest Conservation Act, which is due to expire at the end of this year. Last week, the House of Representatives unanimously reauthorized the law for another three years. Now the Senate needs to act. FOLLOW THE STEPS BELOW TO THANK YOUR REPRESENTATIVE FOR REAUTHORIZING THE ACT AND TO URGE YOUR SENATORS TO APPROVE IT SOON. Tropical forests are immensely valuable. More than 50 percent of the world's terrestrial species are found in tropical forests and over 2,000 tropical forest plants have been identified by scientists as having anti-cancer properties. Yet these special forests are being felled at staggering rates. In 2002 alone, 9,000 square miles in Brazil's Amazon region were deforested due to logging, ranching, farming, and infrastructure development. Since its enactment in 1998, the Tropical Forest Conservation Act has protected millions of acres of tropical forests and countless rain forest species while simultaneously easing the foreign debt burden of developing nations. The tens of millions of dollars -- including more than $5 million from private donors -- that have been channeled into conservation as a result of the act have protected tropical forests from the Philippines to Peru. Please forward this alert to your friends and colleagues. **************************TAKE ACTION NOW!********************* POWERFUL OPTION: Personalize your letter. Go to http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ctt.asp?u=26681&l=55718 and follow the instructions for adding your own thoughts to your message. Decision makers pay much more attention to personalized messages. QUICK OPTION: If you only have a minute, send the message below, as is, by simply replying to this email. (This option works only if you received this email directly from the Conservation Action Network.) If you have any questions or problems with taking action, contact us at actionquestions@takeaction.worldwildlife.org for help. *********************LETTER TEXT****************** Dear (your representative's and senators' names will be inserted here): I am contacting my entire congressional delegation to express my appreciation for the House's recent passage of a bill to reauthorize the Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) and to urge the Senate to pass S. 2787, the Lugar-Biden TFCA reauthorization bill, as quickly as possible. On September 7, the House unanimously passed HR 4654, which reauthorizes the TFCA of 1998 for another three years. Over that period the bill authorizes appropriations of $75 million. Since 1998, the TFCA has funded conservation activities on more than 8,000 square miles of forest in developing countries, an area larger than New Jersey, and wiped out millions of dollars in debt. The funds generated by the act are used for a variety of conservation activities including: * the establishment, restoration, protection, and maintenance of parks, protected areas, and reserves; * the development and implementation of scientifically sound systems of natural resource management, including land and ecosystem management practices; * training programs to increase the scientific, technical, and managerial capacities of individuals and organizations involved in conservation efforts; * restoration, protection, or sustainable use of diverse animal and plant species; research and identification of medicinal uses of tropical forest plant life to treat human diseases, illnesses, and health-related concerns; and * the development and support of the livelihoods of people living in or near a tropical forest in a manner consistent with protecting the forest. Reauthorization of the TFCA will ensure that these critically important activities continue and that threatened tropical forests are protected in many more countries around the world. Sincerely, Your name and address will be inserted here ***********************END OF LETTER TEXT********************* The Conservation Action Network is sponsored by World Wildlife Fund-US. Known worldwide by its panda logo, WWF is dedicated to protecting the world's wildlife and the rich biological diversity that we all need to survive. The leading privately supported international conservation organization in the world, WWF has sponsored more than 2,000 projects in 116 countries and has more than 1 million members in the United States. WWF calls on everyone -- government, industry, and individuals -- to take responsibility by taking action to save our living planet. World Wildlife Fund 1250 Twenty-fourth Street, NW Washington, DC 20037 http://www.worldwildlife.org http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org
SaveOurEnvironment.org Action Center Update: Take Action to Save Our Wild Salmon! http://www.saveourenvironment.org/ctt.asp?u=378380&l=4220 ~~~~~~~~~~ *****Registered Users: Simply reply to this email, hit send, and we'll automatically send the message below to the Forest Service.********* 200 years ago, 10 - 16 million salmon returned annually to a free-flowing Columbia and Snake Rivers. For thousands of years, these magnificent fish have sustained human cultures and economies, and provided a massive nutrient infusion to fuel a unique, productive Pacific Northwest ecosystem including ancient forests, grizzly bears, and orcas. Now, wild salmon in this area is threatened with extinction and needs your help to survive. In the basin of the Columbia & Snake Rivers, an area the size of France, the habitat that salmon rely upon has been degraded by various human activities, and as a result, the health of human communities and natural ecosystems also suffer. Four dams on the lower Snake River have been identified as a key impediment to the recovery of endangered salmon. Under court order, last month the Bush administration released their draft Federal Salmon Plan. Like other recent salmon protection rollbacks, the new administration plan for the Columbia and Snake rivers ignores science, wastes taxpayer dollars, further imperils endangered salmon, and could set a precedent that makes it difficult to recover other endangered species. ~~~~~~~~~~ Take Action Now! http://www.saveourenvironment.org/ctt.asp?u=378380&l=4220 ~~~~~~~~~~ Suppressing sound science isn't just bad for salmon, it's bad for all endangered species and their habitats. The Bush administration's draft plan would set a precedent that could lower the prospects for imperiled species throughout the country. Now is the time to submit your comments and urge the Bush administration not to weaken protections for Northwest salmon. Send the message below urging it to do what is right - follow the science, recover wild salmon, and revive salmon-related jobs and economies. The comment deadline is Oct. 4th! ~~~~~~~~~~ Letter Copy ~~~~~~~~~~ Joyce Howard NOAA Fisheries Joyce.Howard@noaa.gov Dear Ms Howard, The new draft Federal Salmon Plan is a significant step in the wrong direction because it lowers the bar for salmon restoration and ignores sound advice from scientists. Our country should not continue paying for expensive and failing programs such as trucking young salmon downstream around the four dams on the Lower Snake River. Instead, we should be investing in measures that will work and at the same time save taxpayers millions of dollars. For centuries, the legendary wild salmon and steelhead of the Snake and Columbia rivers have made important contributions to the economy, ecology, and culture. But this national treasure is today threatened with extinction. The Bush administration has systematically weakened the prospects for salmon recovery up and down the Pacific coast. Current salmon policies are failing - failing wild salmon, failing the communities and businesses that depend on them, and, through wasteful and ineffective programs, failing U.S. taxpayers. More than a year ago, a federal court judge ordered your agency to rewrite the Federal Salmon Plan, finding your current plan insufficient and illegal. Since then, federal agencies have attempted to cut critical recovery measures meant to help salmon migrate to the ocean, violated Clean Water Act temperature standards on the Snake River, and even launched a policy to counthatchery and wild salmon together so that endangered salmon receive less protection. The draft of the Federal Salmon Plan goes even further - asserting that the federal government has no obligation to restore this valuable species and can instead let salmon teeter on the brink of extinction. The draft even fails to acknowledge that the federal dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers are jeopardizing the health of these fish. These policies have set a dangerous precedent for salmon and other endangered species across the country. That is why I am urging you to throw out the current draft Federal Salmon Plan and make sure that the final plan includes most scientifically credible and economically prudent salmon restoration measure - removal of the four lower Snake River dams - as a central recovery action. Scientists agree this is the surest way to restore wild salmon and steelhead to abundant, harvestable, and self-sustaining populations, and studies show that the energy and barge transportation benefits of these dams can be replaced effectively and affordably. Please consider this letter a formal comment on the draft Federal Salmon Plan, i.e., the draft FCRPS Biological Opinion. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, [your name inserted here]
To: All Activists
From: American Lands Alliance
Date: September 20, 2004
Call the
Senate This Week: Help Stop Lawless
Logging Rider
Last week, Oregon Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) announced that he intended on attaching a lawless logging and tree plantation rider on one of the spending (appropriations) bills that will be moving through the Senate in the next few weeks. We could see the rider on the Senate floor as early as this week. We need your help to stop these riders!!
The Smith rider would override existing environmental laws and prohibit judicial review in order to promote the largest public lands logging project in modern history - the Biscuit post-fire logging project on the Siskiyou National Forest. The rider would prohibit judicial review and citizen appeals, eliminate all public involvement and put roadless areas, ancient forest reserves, wild and scenic rivers and salmon runs at risk.
In addition to
exempting the largest timber sale in history from environmental laws and
judicial review, Senator Smith has indicated he may also attach legislation S.
2709 (the artificial tree plantation bill) that will turn vast stretches of
natural forests that have recently burned, including roadless areas and old
growth forests, into tree plantations. This proposed legislation seeks to use
forest fires, "storm damage or other natural occurrences" as excuses to promote
logging in old growth or roadless forests. This provision would cause
significant harm by preventing the natural recovery process, creating fire-prone
plantation conditions, damaging wildlife habitat and increasing erosion that
pollutes streams. This rider
would not just apply to Oregon but to every National Forest in the United
States.
Senator Smith's actions must be stopped. Please take time to call your Senators this week to tell them what Senator Smith is up to. To be directed to your Senators call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3124. Please ask for the legislative staff that works on forest issues. Tell your Senators:
1. Oppose Senator Gordon Smith's Lawless Logging Rider. The rider will override existing environmental laws and prohibit judicial review to promote the largest public lands logging project in modern history - the Biscuit post-fire logging project on the Siskiyou National Forest. This rider is intended to override the current judicial process that is underway by stripping away all forest and river protection laws for the Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area in Southern Oregon and slamming shut the courtroom doors to citizens, leaving roadless areas, ancient forest reserves, wild and scenic rivers and salmon runs at risk of being destroyed by logging and roadbuilding.
2. Oppose efforts by Senator Gordon Smith to attach his Tree Plantation Bill (S. 2709) to a spending bill. The bill will turn vast stretches of natural forests that have recently burned, including roadless areas and old growth forests into tree plantations. This rider would cause significant harm by preventing the natural recovery process, creating fire-prone plantation conditions, damaging wildlife habitat and increasing erosion that pollutes streams.
Factsheet on
Smith Lawless Logging Rider
Senator
Smith Threatens to Include Logging Rider on Spending
Bill
September 17, 2004
Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) recently announced that he would use a legislative rider to override existing laws and promote the largest public lands logging project in modern history - the Biscuit post-fire logging project. Senator Smith would strip away all forest and river protection laws for the Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area in Southern Oregon and slam shut the courtroom doors to citizens, leaving roadless areas, ancient forest reserves, wild and scenic rivers and salmon runs at risk of being destroyed by logging and roadbuilding. Unfortunately, incorrect information has been used to promote this massive logging project.
Here are the
facts:
· The Biscuit post-fire logging project is an enormous and complex initiative, to date consisting of 12 different timber sales. While Senator Smith recently stated that all of the proposed logging has been stopped by court decision, only six old growth timber sales have been stopped by court decision. Although these timber sales were in highly sensitive pristine areas, the Forest Service did not allow any agency appeals, and so citizens had no choice but to appeal to the court judiciary.
· Of those 12 proposed timber sales, three are moving forward without delay. The last three never received any bids from industry.
· According to a recent Freedom of Information request, at least 12 million board feet of timber has been awarded and is being logged and hauled away from the area through categorical exclusions from the National Environmental Policy Act.
· The Forest Service proposal would log 370 million board feet, enough to fill 74,000 log trucks on almost 20,000 acres -- 30 square miles -- of National Forest. This would make the Forest Service proposal the largest logging project in history.
· Senator Smith's rider would allow logging of over 8,000 acres covered by the Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
·
The public is overwhelmingly opposed to the Biscuit
logging in old growth and roadless forests. Out of 23,000 comments received on the
Biscuit Project, 95% opposed the agency's proposal.
·
Even government agencies - EPA and the Fish and
Wildlife Service - along with independent scientists with expertise in satellite
mapping, soils, forest ecology, fisheries management, and restoration have
stated that Forest Service documents greatly exaggerated the benefits of the
Biscuit post-fire logging project.
These scientists also found that: the project will likely increase fire
risks in the Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area for up to 30 years; extensive logging as
proposed by the Forest Service will retard the regeneration of old-growth
forests; excessive sediment flowing into streams from roads and fire lines will
likely choke critical fish spawning areas; and as much as forty percent of the
units mapped for logging contain live trees.
·
Conservationists support several alternatives to the
massive Biscuit Project - alternatives that would restore burned areas while
providing jobs and prioritizing community protection from future fires.
· The Biscuit Project would allow logging in old growth reserves -- designated for the protection of old-growth forests, wildlife habitat and biological diversity.
· 48,000 acres (75 square miles) would be disqualified from Wilderness eligibility.
·
Independent analysis has shown
the Biscuit Project would cost taxpayers well over $40 million, wasting taxpayer
money on logging the backcountry instead of protecting homes and communities
from wildfire
· With five National Wild and Scenic Rivers, the Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area is one of the best remaining refuges for wild native salmon and steelhead left on the Pacific coast.
· The rivers and streams that could be severely damaged by the logging proposal support 27 unique runs of at-risk anadromous fish, including Coho salmon, spring and fall Chinook salmon, winter and summer steelhead, coastal cutthroat trout, green sturgeon, white sturgeon, and Pacific lamprey.
· The Siskiyou Mountains in Oregon contain a wealth of other significant ecological values, including a distinctive and diverse geology, unparalleled botanical richness, numerous endemic and highly restricted plant species, unique flora and fauna habitat, unparalleled recreation opportunities, and clean water.
Action deadline: September 30, 2004 WWF calls on activists worldwide to urge the U.S. government to take steps to prevent the illegal trade and unsustainable logging of two tropical woods -- big-leaf mahogany and ramin. Without further action, big-leaf mahogany may become commercially extinct. And, in the peat forest swamps where ramin grows, endangered tigers, orangutans, and other species will be put at risk. FOLLOW THE STEPS BELOW TO URGE THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO CALL FOR FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF EXISTING BIG-LEAF MAHOGANY PROTECTIONS AND TO ENDORSE A PROPOSAL TO INCREASE PROTECTIONS FOR RAMIN. The 166 countries that are parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) will meet October 2-14 to consider proposals to strengthen protection and regulation of trade for a variety of species. Issues concerning trade in ramin and big-leaf mahogany are on the agenda. CITES is a treaty that regulates international trade in species of wild plants and animals considered threatened or endangered, as well as those that could become endangered if their trade isn't properly controlled. Strong U.S. support for protection of ramin and big-leaf mahogany would greatly increase the chances that the ramin proposal passes and that the existing big-leaf mahogany protections are enforced. Big-leaf mahogany has long been sought after for its high quality, beauty, and durability. Despite protections that came into force last year under CITES, illegal logging of big-leaf mahogany remains a serious problem throughout the rain forests of South America. WWF has strong indications that illegal logging of mahogany is occurring within several national parks and territories of indigenous groups living in voluntary isolation. Ramin is also subject to overharvesting, the majority of which is illegal and driven by demand from the international market. This tropical hardwood from Indonesia and Malaysia is used to make mass-produced baby cribs, pool cues, moldings, doors, and picture frames. The peat swamp forests where ramin primarily grows are increasingly targeted by illegal loggers in search of the valuable wood. Please forward this alert to your friends and colleagues. **************************TAKE ACTION NOW!********************* POWERFUL OPTION: Personalize your letter. Go to http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ctt.asp?u=26681&l=55783 and follow the instructions for adding your own thoughts to your message. Decision makers pay much more attention to personalized messages. QUICK OPTION: If you only have a minute, send the message below, as is, by simply replying to this email. (This option works only if you received this email directly from the Conservation Action Network.) If you have any questions or problems with taking action, contact us at actionquestions@takeaction.worldwildlife.org for help. *********************LETTER TEXT****************** The Honorable Craig Manson U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks 1849 C Street, NW Room 3156 Washington, DC 20240 Dear Mr. Manson: As someone concerned about the status of forests and wildlife around the globe, I urge you to take steps to ensure compliance with the existing CITES Appendix II listing for big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) and to support Indonesia's proposal to list ramin (Gonystylus spp) on Appendix II. Big-leaf mahogany is currently listed on Appendix II, which recognizes that it is at risk and needs protection, and allows international trade only if member countries ensure that the trade is legal and sustainable. Nevertheless, illegal logging of big-leaf mahogany remains rampant and illegally logged big-leaf mahogany continues to be exported contrary to the provisions of CITES. The United States has received shipments since the Appendix II listing went into effect and many are of questionable legality.. I urge the U.S. government to request immediate and full compliance with CITES by ensuring that all shipments containing mahogany undergo careful inspection and abide by the conditions of Appendix II. The United States declared at the CITES meeting in 2002 that it supported the mahogany proposal. Please reinforce that support by fully implementing the CITES requirements for mahogany. If the U.S. government is not convinced that the Appendix II criteria are being met for particular countries, then it should halt the importation of mahogany from such countries until full compliance can be guaranteed and demonstrated. The current overexploitation of ramin in Indonesia is driven by high international demand for this valuable wood. Indonesia's proposal to list ramin on Appendix II in order to help regulate and control this trade would ensure that all ramin entering the trade chain is from well-managed forests and harvested without detriment to the survival of the species in the wild. The listing would also stimulate international cooperation to control illegal trade and to manage and conserve ramin. Ramin plays a key role within the ecosystem, growing in peatland forests that are habitat to many endangered species. I urge the United States to support Indonesia, a developing country that has asked CITES for this assistance, by supporting this proposal. Please do all you can to ensure that international trade in big-leaf mahogany and ramin is legal and sustainable and that the important environmental benefits they provide are maintained for the future. Sincerely, Your name and address will be inserted here ***********************END OF LETTER TEXT********************* _____________________________________________________________________ The Conservation Action Network is sponsored by World Wildlife Fund-US. Known worldwide by its panda logo, WWF is dedicated to protecting the world's wildlife and the rich biological diversity that we all need to survive. The leading privately supported international conservation organization in the world, WWF has sponsored more than 2,000 projects in 116 countries and has more than 1 million members in the United States. WWF calls on everyone -- government, industry, and individuals -- to take responsibility by taking action to save our living planet. World Wildlife Fund 1250 Twenty-fourth Street, NW Washington, DC 20037 http://www.worldwildlife.org http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org
