Logging Industry wish list bill
12/11/96
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
From: Western Ancient Forest Campaign
Subject: SEN. LARRY CRAIG UNVEILS LOGGING INDUSTRY WISH LIST BILL
Date: 11 Dec 1996 21:59:05 GMT
December 9, 1996
TO: All Forest Activists
FROM: Sean Cosgrove
SEN. LARRY CRAIG UNVEILS INDUSTRY WISH LIST BILL
Today Idaho Senator Larry Craig unveiled his legislation proposal to
roll back protections of virtually every law that manages National
Forest lands. The bill proposes to weaken the Clean Water Act, the
Endangered Species Act and other laws that protect fish and wildlife.
Included among the provisions of the bill are plans to allow states
to manage federal lands, opportunities for industry to plan federal
timber sales and allows federal agencies to adopt state levels of
protection for implementing the Clean Water Act. A copy of the bill
can be obtained from the Senate subcommittee on Forests and Public
Lands Management chaired by Sen. Craig at 202/224-6170.
INTERAGENCY REPORT ON SALVAGE RIDER RELEASED
A report on the implementation of the Rescissions Act Logging Rider
released today determined a lack of "sufficient oversight and
accountability" within the Forest Service and Bureau of Land
Management and "confusion within and among agencies" exists
concerning which trees can be considered for salvage sales. The
review team highlighted nine areas where management could have been
improved. The review team consisted of members from the Forest
Service, Bureau of Land Management, Environmental Protection Agency,
Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The team that produced the review has been assigned to develop an
action plan to guide implementation of their findings. A draft of
the action plan is due in February. A copy of the report or more
information can be obtained by calling 202/720-9035 or at
www.usda.org
LETTER ASKS PRESIDENT TO BAN HIGH RISK LOGGING
In the Pacific Northwest recent mudslides stemming from logging and
roadbuilding have damaged forest and aquatic ecosystems, destroyed
homes and contributed to the deaths of several people. Many of these
mudslides originated in areas suffering from extensive logging on
steep slopes.
Attached is a copy of a group sign-on letter to President Clinton
asking him to impose an immediate moratorium on high risk logging and
roadbuilding on federal lands. The deadline is the close of business
on Tuesday, Dec. 10. This letter is designed for groups. If your
group is interested in signing on please contact Sean at 202/789-2844
ext. 294 or wafcsean@igc.apc.org
December 12, 1996
The Hon. William J. Clinton, President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
At least five people in the Northwest have been killed by recent
landslides associated with unsafe clearcutting of forests. Clearcuts
on steep slopes threaten both human life and the natural environment
across the nation.
This year's catastrophic landslides demonstrate that state and
federal governments are failing to protect the human and natural
environment from destructive and unsafe logging. Every one of the
hundreds of clearcuts and logging roads contributing to landslides in
the past year was approved by federal or state agencies. Even today
the agencies continue to approve dangerous logging. They must be
forced to stop.
We ask you to direct the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land
Management to impose an immediate moratorium on high-risk logging and
road construction--particularly clearcutting on steep slopes. We also
ask that the agencies be directed to examine existing clearcuts and
logging roads, under recent regulatory regimes, which have been
authorized on slopes above residential areas and public highways. If
these clearcuts or logging roads show evidence of possible slope
failure, residents and motorists within a danger zone must be
protected.
This year's storms have shown the need for emergency action on your
part. Before last month's tragic landslides, which claimed at least
five lives, other slides associated with clearcuts destroyed property
and critical wildlife habitat.
While the loss of human lives is the most dramatic demonstration of
the destruction caused by clearcut logging, the problem is much more
pervasive: clearcuts and logging roads result in erosion and
sedimentation in our streams and public drinking water supplies, and
in the destruction of fish habitat. In the November storms, municipal
watershed supplies were put at risk. In earlier 1996 storms, similar
landslides also jeopardized water supplies and polluted salmon
streams.
This is not an isolated request for a moratorium on unsafe logging.
For example, the city of Salem, Oregon, has formally asked for a
moratorium on timber sales in their watershed until a study of the
impacts of logging on water quality and flooding has been completed.
Additionally, Oregon's Sen. Ron Wyden has asked your administration
to provide more protection for municipal drinking water supplies
covered under the Northwest Forest Plan. Clearly, a moratorium on
logging that affects human health and safety is needed at this time.
In separate letters, we are asking the governors of California,
Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana to direct the relevant state
agencies to impose similar, immediate moratoriums on high-risk
logging and road construction on lands within their jurisdiction.
We are attaching a 1996 study by Pacific Rivers Council, which
documents landslides on federal lands that resulted from
clearcutting; and news clippings of the recent landslide-related
deaths in Oregon.
The slides of 1996 demonstrate clearly that state and federal land
management agencies are not considering human health and safety, and
cannot be trusted to judge the safety of a clearcut or a logging road
in risky situations. The state and federal agencies approved massive
numbers of clearcuts and logging roads on steep slopes--even when
other agencies and the public pointed out the dangers.
The existing methods to judge risk have failed. We ask you to
immediately direct the agencies to halt these unsafe practices, and
not to approve any more clearcuts or logging roads in risky
situations until they develop a proven method to eliminate the risks.
Sincerely,
Steve Holmer
Campaign Coordinator
Western Ancient Forest Campaign
1101 14th St. NW #1400
Washington, D.C. 20005
202/789-2844 ext. 291
202/682-1943 fax
wafcdc@igc.apc.org