June 23, 2003 Update by Rick Bass

From Rick Bass

June 23, 2003 Update from Rick Bass

In the Yaak, the national forest has been turned upside down, from a forest that was once as much as 50% old growth into one that now possesses two-thirds small-diameter trees. There is need and potential for thinning, but not the kind that the Bush administration is pursuing. Please call these Senators immediately, and when you tell them that you oppose the "Healthy Forests" bill in its present form, be sure to tell them also that you want to see the last roadless areas in the Yaak protected as wilderness--that there is not a single acre of designated wilderness in the Yaak. Thank you!

Calls Needed to Senate Agriculture Committee:
HR 1904 is moving fast The so-called "Healthy Forests Restoration Act," HR 1904, is moving fast in the Senate. The Senate Agriculture Committee will be holding a full committee hearing on the bill next Thursday, June 26, 2003. More urgently, the bill could be headed to the Senate floor as early as the third week in July. Calls and faxes are urgently needed to the Agriculture Committee members (see list of names below) to help stop HR 1904. Please call or fax your Senators and let them know that voting for HR 1904 will have damaging ecological consequences and will take away your democratic right to participate in decisions about how your public lands are managed. Educate your Senators about the effects that voting for this legislation will have on the ground in our National Forests.

In addition please tell Senators to:

1. Support community protection by requiring that fuels projects be concentrated to the Community Protection Zone -- defined as 60 meters from an individual inhabited structure to protect the home ignition zone and up to 500 meters from a community's inhabited structures -- to provide community and firefighter protection. Government research has found this is the only proven method to protect homes and communities.

2. Direct at least 85% of the National Forest Plan hazardous fuels budget to grants for states and funding to local communities to provide funds to ensure community and homeowner protection in the Community Protection Zone. Research has shown that 85% of the lands within the Community Protection Zone are State, tribal, county and non-industrial private lands.

3. Oppose any fire legislation that excludes environmental analysis, limits public participation and citizen's rights to appeal projects, and use of goods for services contracts which allow logging companies to be given trees instead of cash as payment for fuels reduction logging on public lands.

In contrast to sensible community protection and critical public participation, the "Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (HR 1904) will:

1. Not Ensure Any Increased Protection for Communities: HR 1904 does not include any specific measures to protect homes or communities. It is also inconsistent with the Western Governors' Association 10-Year Comprehensive Strategy, which does not call for any changes in existing laws. The only proven method to protect homes and communities is to reduce flammable materials in the immediate vicinity of structures, yet the sham definitions in H.R. 1904 would not require any activities to be near homes. Instead, the bill seeks to further subsidize the timber industry and eliminate obstacles to logging large, fire-resistant trees miles away from the nearest home. The country's top forest scientists, including the Forest Service's own scientists, have found that this kind of logging can actually increase fire risk and make fires larger and more intense.

2. Cut the Heart out of NEPA. HR 1904 allows the Forest Service to conduct large-scale, environmentally damaging logging projects without considering any alternatives, including the "no action" alternative or their relative environmental impacts.

3. Remove the Public from the Process. HR 1904 eliminates the statutory right of citizens to appeal Forest Service logging projects.

4. Interfere with the Independent Judiciary. HR 1904 seeks to restrict a core principle of our democracy -- the right of Americans to seek redress in the court for grievances involving the federal government. The bill limits preliminary injunctive relief to 45 days, and forces any U.S court to render a final decision on the merits of a case within 100 days. Finally, the bill seeks an astounding change in American legal standards by requiring courts to give deference to agency findings regarding the balance of harms in deciding whether to enter a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, or a permanent injunction in ANY court challenge where the agency claims the action is necessary to "restore fire-adapted forest or rangelands ecosystems."

5. Create New Insect Categorical Exclusion. HR 1904 creates a new Categorical Exclusion from the National Environmental Policy Act on all Department of Interior and Forest Service lands by authorizing an unlimited number of projects (up to 1,000 acres each) for all lands that the agencies claim are at risk of infestation by certain insects.

6. Provide New Logging Subsidies. HR 1904 would authorize $125 million in subsidies to the biomass industry to log our National Forests.

For additional and more detailed factsheets, talking points, and fire education materials, please go to:http://www.americanlands.org/activist_materials_packet.htm

Agriculture Committee Members Richard Lugar (R-IN) Phone: 202-224-4814; Fax 202-228-0360
Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL) Phone: 202-224-2854; Fax: 202-228-1372
Norm Coleman (R-MN) Phone: 202-224-5641; Fax: 202-224-1152
Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) Phone: 202-224-6342; Fax: 202-224-1100
Blanch Lincoln (D-AR) Phone: 202-224-4843; Fax: 202-228-1371
Zel Miller (D-GA) Phone: 202-224-3643; Fax: 202-228-2090
Ben Nelson (D-NE) Phone: 202-224-6551; Fax: 202-228-0012
Mark Dayton (D-MN) Phone: 202-224-3244; Fax: 202-228-2186
Max Baucus (D-MT) Phone: 202-224-2651, Fax: 202-228-3687
Kent Conrad (D-ND) Phone: 202-224-2043; Fax: 202-224-7776
Tom Daschle (D-SD) Phone: 202-224-2321; Fax: 202-224-6603
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) Phone: 202-224-4822; Fax: 202-228-0325
Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Phone: 202-224-4242; Fax: 202-224-3479
Tom Harkin (D-IA) Phone: 202-224-3254; Fax: 202-224-9369

Sample Letter for Fax:
Dear Senator (insert name),

Very soon the Senate will be asked to vote on legislation that recently passed the House of Representatives entitled the "Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003" (HR 1904). I urge you to oppose HR 1904. Like the Bush Administration's so-called "Healthy Forests Initiative," HR 1904 seeks to waive environmental review, undermine meaningful public participation and interfere with our courts in order to favor big timber companies over community protection.
HE 1904 also attempts to change the standard of judicial review to prevent courts from stopping harmful projects on lands managed by the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The Bush Administration continues to use last year's dramatic fire season to ask you to advance timber industry proposals. Instead, the Senate should require the Forest Service and BLM to help at-risk communities thin small diameter trees and brush in the 500-meter Community Protection Zone. Private landowners should get assistance in reducing hazardous fuels on their property within this crucial defensible zone. This approach is a proven method to protect lives and homes and is the best use of taxpayer resources.

Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name] [Address] [City], [State] [Zip]

Lisa Dix National Forest Program Director American Lands Alliance ldix@americanlands.org Ph: 202-547-9105; Fax: 202-547-9213

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