Stop Salvage Logging--Bad Rider Sales in California
10/4/96
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
/** en.alerts: 93.0 **/
** Topic: Bad Rider Sales in California Alert **
** Written 2:50 PM Oct 4, 1996 by wafcdc in cdp:en.alerts **
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TO: All Forest Activists
FROM: Paul Spitler - WAFC California Organizer, 916/758-0380
DATE: October 4, 1996
SUBJECT: Bad Sale Alert
Please help save endangered fish and ancient forests from logging!
In July of last year President Clinton signed into law the infamous logging
rider. The rider changed the definition of "salvage logging" (the cutting
of supposedly dead and dying trees) on our public lands to include the
cutting of perfectly healthy trees, and shielded such logging projects from
our nation's environmental laws. This leaves irreplaceable roadless areas,
old-growth forests, and other sensitive ecosystems in our national forests
vulnerable to logging since environmental activists can no longer use our
nation's laws to protect them.
Over the past year, the salvage rider has caused tremendous harm to
old-growth forests throughout the western states. California's national
forests have thus far been spared, but there are currently over 300 logging
rider timber projects planned for California this year alone, and more are
announced almost every day.
Six of these destructive logging projects are described below. These seven
projects will be sold to the timber industry very soon--some as early as
October 22! Your help is desperately needed to convince President Clinton
to cancel these projects before they are sold.
I. The Canon timber sale in the Klamath National Forest will log old growth
forest from landslide-prone soils and increase sedimentation to Kelsey and
Clear Creeks, important spawning streams for imperiled salmon and steelhead
fisheries. The Canon sale will also log in the Box Camp Roadless Area.
This roadless area could be added to the adjacent Marble Mountain
Wilderness one day if it remains in a pristine condition.
II-III. The Pilot Creek East Helicopter and Pilot Creek North timber sales
in the Six Rivers National Forest will destroy 900 acres of the Pilot Creek
Roadless Area. The roadless area is the last remaining pristine portion of
the Pilot Creek watershed. Logging this wild area will degrade habitat for
the imperiled steelhead trout calling Pilot Creek home.
IV. The Saddle timber sale in the Mendocino National Forest will log
old-growth forest in the sensitive Eel River watershed. The Eel River's
salmon and steelhead fisheries depend on old-growth forest to provide the
cold, clear water they need for survival.
V. The Poison Spring salvage sale in the Modoc National Forest will log
ancient forest in the region's only confirmed California spotted owl
nesting area. The groves proposed for logging are also home to pileated
woodpeckers and the elusive goshawk. In addition, the endangered Modoc
sucker fish dwells in the affected area and is vulnerable to logging-
generated sediment and other pollutants.
VI. The Upper Poor Boy salvage sale in the Toiyabe National Forest will log
old-growth forest in the Raymond Peak Roadless Area adjacent to the
Mokelumne Wilderness. The area slated for logging is steep and
highly-erosive and is home to several threatened animal species. The
project violates Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman's recent order to
the Forest Service to refrain from salvage logging in roadless areas.
White House officials have the authority to protect these threatened areas
by withdrawing the logging projects described above--please help us
convince them to use this authority!
What You Can Do:
Please call, write, and fax if possible the following officials as often as
you can between now and October 21:
The Honorable Dan Glickman
Secretary of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture
14th & Independence Avenue S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20250
Phone: 202-720-3631
Fax: 202-720-2166
Kathleen McGinty
Director
White House Council on Environmental Quality
Old Executive Office Building, Room 360
Washington, D.C. 20501
Phone: 202-456-6224
Fax: 202-456-2710
Please request that the sales mentioned above be withdrawn immediately.
Remind these officials that the President has promised to safeguard our
nation's public lands and protect our environment. Let them know that
only by canceling these sales can the President fulfill his promise. Use
the descriptions of the sales above to inform your comments.
Thank you for your help!