Washington Wilderness Coalition Launches National Public Education
Campaign
12/1/98
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Washington Wilderness Coalition Launches National Public Education
Campaign
Source: Business Wire
Status: Copyrighted, contact source to reprint
Date: 12/1/98
-- Television and Radio Campaign
Announced to Save Wilderness -
Citizens Urged to Get Involved --
R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, in partnership with the Washington Wilderness
Coalition (WWC) unveiled today a television and radio campaign including a
Public Service Announcement intended to educate citizens about the need to
protect Americas wild forests before they are all gone.
The PSA, now airing on VH-1 and CNN, features images of publicly owned
forests in Washington state, showing the impacts of clearcuts and logging
roads and the scenic beauty of wilderness forests. The radio PSA is being
distributed by College Music Journal to 800 College Radio Stations. The
PSA stresses that America's remaining wild forests have important values,
including clean water, wildlife habitat, and unmatched outdoor recreation
opportunities.
"It's like driving a giant bulldozer through our Wilderness. Wilderness
can't be replaced. We need to protect what's left before it's all gone,"
says Buck in the PSA. Buck encourages viewers to get more involved by
calling 1-(877)-2-ACT-NOW.
The Forest Service is deciding this month whether to include the Northwest
in its moratorium on logging road construction. There are currently
433,000 miles of taxpayer subsidized logging roads in the National Forest
System. WWC is working to conserve an estimated 3 million acres of
Washington State s unprotected roadless areas through congressional
Wilderness designation and other administrative measures.
The partnership with WWC began in September when R.E.M., Pearl Jam, and
Chris Cornell (formerly of Soundgarden), sent a meeting request to Vice
President Gore to discuss protection for America's disappearing forests.
The Vice President's office responded that they would consider scheduling
a meeting later this year. To date, no meeting has been set, but WWC
continues to work closely with the Vice President's office with the
hope that the musicians will have an opportunity to meet with the Vice
President to discuss the current threats to their home states National
Forests.
Peter and the other band members are helping the public to see what's
happening to our remaining unprotected forests. They are being threatened
now and we must act fast before it is too late, stated WWC's Executive
Director, John Leary. At stake are millions of acres of our publicly owned
National Forests -- still wild and unroaded, but still unprotected from
logging, mining and the destructive roads these activities require.
The PSA offers a toll-free hot line, donated by Working Assets Long
Distance, for citizens to get involved. The number, 1-(877)-2-ACT-NOW,
will be active through December 31, 1998. The PSA can also be viewed on
the internet at www.wawild.org.
Copyright 1998, Business Wire