| 8/14/03
Hi Everyone. It been a while since the last update. Below are a lot of
information. Please participate in what ever you can.
NRDC Sep. 6th Meeting. Click here for more info.
___________________ Stop Logging in Alaska & Nevada ______________________
This is from NRDC
In This Issue:
--Action Alerts--
1. Speak out to stop Bush administration plans to allow logging and
roadbuilding in Alaska's national forests
2. Stop the Bush administration's attempts to triple logging in the Sierra
Nevada Forest
3. Special announcement: Win a hybrid car and college scholarship!
Students between the ages of 16 and 25 can enter now at
http://www.mtv.com/asm/freeride/
--Updates on Previous Alerts--
1. Senate energy bill
2. Appropriations bills
======================================================
You will also find these alerts in NRDC'S Earth Action Center, which includes
tools for taking action easily online, at http://www.nrdc.org/action
(Please do not reply to this message; see the instructions below for
how to
unsubscribe or contact NRDC with questions or comments.)
=============
Action Alerts
=============
1. Speak out to stop Bush administration plans to allow logging and
roadbuilding in Alaska's national forests
America's two largest national forests, the Tongass and the Chugach,
cover more
than 22 million acres of Alaska that are teeming with sensitive wildlife.
Along
the state's southeastern coastline, the Tongass' glacial fjords, volcanic
mountains, misty rainforests and luxurious tundra contain rich salmon
spawning
grounds and prime grizzly bear habitat, as well as the world's densest
population of bald eagles. In the north, the Chugach is home to wolves,
brown
and black bears, lynx, northern goshawks, marbled murrelets and harlequin
ducks.
Although the landmark roadless rule adopted in early 2001 to protect
large
undeveloped areas of national forests declared the Tongass and Chugach
off
limits to logging and road construction, timber industry allies in the
Bush
administration have proposed reversing the roadless rule, and numerous
timber
sales are already being planned for the Tongass. The administration's
most
recently announced plans would exempt both the Tongass and the Chugach
from the
roadless rule and remove protections for Alaska's pristine roadless areas,
which are home to one-quarter of the land protected by the roadless rule.
The Forest Service is accepting public comments on these latest attempts
to gut
the roadless rule for only 30 days, so comments must be sent by August
14th.
== What to do ==
Send a message to the Forest Service, before the August 14th comment deadline,
opposing the proposed roadless rule exemptions for the Tongass and Chugach
national forests.
== Contact information ==
You can send official comments on the two proposals to the Forest Service
directly from NRDC's Earth Action Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action/.
Or use
the contact information and sample letter below to send your own message.
Roadless TNF Content Analysis Team
USDA Forest Service
P.O. Box 22810
Salt Lake City, Utah 84122
Fax: 801-880-2808
Email: roadlesstnf@fs.fed.us
Roadless ANPR Content Analysis Team
USDA Forest Service
P.O. Box 22777
Salt Lake City, Utah 84122
Fax: 801-880-3311
Email: roadlessanpr@fs.fed.us
== Sample letter ==
Subject: Don't exempt the Tongass or Chugach from the roadless rule
Dear Forest Service Chief Bosworth,
I oppose all proposals to open roadless areas of America's two largest
national
forests, the Tongass and Chugach, to logging or roadbuilding. I specifically
oppose both the recent Forest Service proposal for an interim exemption
of the
Tongass from the Roadless Area Conservation Rule and the Advanced Notice
of
Proposed Rulemaking to adopt permanent exemptions for both the Tongass
and the
Chugach from the roadless rule.
I fully support the roadless rule and urge you to uphold the rule as
published
on January 12, 2001, including full protection for roadless areas in the
Tongass and Chugach national forests, and to vigorously defend the rule
in
court.
The Tongass is the crown jewel of the national forest system -- a remote
coastal rainforest unparalleled anywhere on the planet, home to awe-inspiring
landscapes and healthy populations of grizzly bears, bald eagles, wild
salmon,
and other wildlife. The Chugach is home to many world-class wildlands
on the
Kenai Peninsula, Prince William Sound, and Copper River Delta. Allowing
roadbuilding and logging in roadless areas of these rainforests would
damage
ecosystems, endanger wildlife, and diminish recreational opportunities.
Proposals to spoil these treasures with roads and logging ignore the
wishes of
the vast majority of Americans like me who support protection of roadless
areas
in all of our national forests, including Alaska's. Again, I urge the
Forest
Service to permanently protect all roadless areas in the Tongass and Chugach
national forests.
Sincerely,
[Your name and address]
2. Stop the Bush administration's attempts to triple logging in the Sierra
Nevada Forest
The Sierra Nevada is California's signature mountain range and a national
treasure. The Sierra Nevada Framework, the range-wide management plan
for the
region adopted in 2001, aims to safeguard hard-pressed species like the
California spotted owl and Pacific fisher, while allowing logging of small
trees to reduce wildfire risks to lives and property.
The Bush administration recently proposed a radical increase in logging
throughout the Sierra Nevada, cutting back on protections for old growth
forests and wildlife. Besides tripling the logging allowed in the current
plan,
the proposal would significantly weaken limitations on grazing in sensitive
habitat areas and permit tens of thousands of acres of small clearcuts
throughout the Sierra Nevada, fragmenting forest ecosystems.
To make matters worse, the Forest Service is trying push these rollbacks
through as "non-significant" changes without having gone through
the required
process for soliciting public input before developing the plan. Now that
the
plan has been developed and proposed, the Forest Service is finally accepting
comments from the public (until September 12th).
== What to do ==
Send a message, before the September 12th comment deadline, insisting
that the
Forest Service maintain or strengthen existing conservation measures in
the
Sierra Nevada.
== Contact information ==
You can send an official comment to the Forest Service directly from NRDC's
Earth Action Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action/.
Or use the contact
information and sample letter below to send your own message.
Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment DSEIS
Att'n: Content Analysis Team
P.O. Box 221090
Salt Lake City, UT 84122-1090
Fax: 801-517-1014
Email: snfpa@fs.fed.us
== Sample letter ==
Subject: Don't weaken the Sierra Nevada Framework
Dear Chief Bosworth and Forest Service staff,
I strongly object to the Forest Service's proposed plan to weaken existing
protections for the Sierra Nevada forests embodied in the Sierra Nevada
Framework.
I urge you to maintain and strengthen existing protections under the
current
framework for old growth stands, and to retain and strengthen existing
protections for species associated with these forests, including the California
spotted owl and the Pacific fisher. I also urge you to strengthen existing
restrictions on grazing to protect meadows, streams and other critical
habitat
for imperiled species such as the willow flycatcher and the mountain yellow-
legged frog.
I object to the increased logging levels allowed under the proposed new
plan,
and urge your agency not to increase commercial logging in the region,
and to
restrict logging to selective thinning of smaller trees. I also urge you
to
maintain the framework's restrictions on the Quincy Library Group proposal,
which would greatly fragment forest ecosystems in the northern Sierra.
Finally, I am extremely concerned that the Forest Service has never held
a
public scoping process to provide the public with the opportunity to offer
input on any part of this proposal. I urge you to follow the full public
scoping procedures required by law, and to provide interested parties
with
adequate opportunity to comment on these significant amendments to the
framework.
Sincerely,
[Your name and address]
==========================
Updates on Previous Alerts
==========================
SENATE ENERGY BILL
In our last alert (and during the past several months), we asked you to
send
messages urging your senators to take the necessary time to significantly
improve the Senate's version of a comprehensive energy bill. On July 31,
in an
unexpected twist, the Senate's Republican leaders offered to substitute
last
year's energy bill, which was passed while Democrats controlled the Senate,
for
this year's version. Democrats accepted the offer and the bill passed,
84-14.
While last year's bill does not include the huge subsidies for constructing
new
nuclear power plants that this year's version did, it nevertheless would
give
tax breaks to polluting industries and fund oil and gas production in
fragile
coastal and marine areas. It also fails to address oil savings or significant
renewable energy measures. Republicans admitted that offering last year's
bill
was nothing more than a way to quickly move the matter to a House-Senate
conference committee, where they expect to use their majority control
to re-
write major portions of the legislation. We'll most certainly be asking
for
your continued action when this issue heats up again in the fall. In the
meantime, you can read more about the recent turn of events at our "Legislative
Watch" page [http://www.nrdc.org/legislation/legwatch.asp#air]. Thanks
to
the thousands of you who kept the pressure on your senators.
APPROPRIATIONS BILLS
Also in our last edition, we asked you to urge your senators to reject
anti-
environment provisions in next year's Interior and energy and water funding
bills. As a result of the Senate's prolonged debate on the energy bill
and
judicial nominees, floor votes on these appropriations bills were postponed
until Congress returns from its August recess. Stay tuned.
========================
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==========
About NRDC
==========
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a nonprofit environmental organization
with more than 550,000 members nationwide and a staff of scientists, attorneys
and environmental experts. Our mission is to protect the planet's wildlife
and
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