***********************************************
WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
Scientists Want American Logging Restriction
***********************************************
Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
     http://forests.org/

5/11/98
OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY by EE
The "New World" of America has been severely biologically diminished 
as a result of over-exploitative land management practices.  Many 
Federal lands continue to be viewed as primarily sources of logs, 
rather than important ecosystem, biodiversity _and_ forest product
reserves.  More than 600 leading American scientists have gone public 
to highlight the folly of current public forest management practices.
g.b.

*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:

Title:    Scientists Want Logging Restriction
Source:   Associated Press
Status:   Copyright, contact source for permission to reprint
Date:     April 28, 1998
Byline:   Laurence Arnold

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hundreds of scientists including renowned 
chimpanzee researcher Jane Goodall urged Congress to place sharp 
restrictions on logging in America's forests.

Goodall was among more than 600 biologists, ecologists, botanists,
zoologists and others who have signed a letter endorsing legislation 
to ban logging on millions of acres of federal land.

The Democratic legislation was introduced last year and has made 
little progress in the Republican-controlled Congress. The chief 
author, Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., said the chorus of support 
from scientists will give the proposal a boost.

Among the seven scientists who joined Torricelli at a press conference
Tuesday was Edward O. Wilson, a Harvard University entomologist who 
has won two Pulitzer Prizes. He said cutting trees in ancient forests
"drastically imperils a vast array of species."

"We are indeed at a crossroads," Wilson said of the debate in Congress 
over logging. "If we take the wrong road, the trauma will be unlike 
other national traumas that we get over after a period of time."

Torricelli's bill would ban logging and road-building on 13 million
acres of ancient forest, 4 million acres of specially designated areas
and about 9 million acres in roadless areas.

Even in areas not covered by the ban, the legislation would outlaw 
more aggressive methods of logging, including clear-cutting.

"This bill is absolutely historic in that it applies the best
scientific knowledge of the day to land management. It's rarely been
done before," said Gary Meffe, a professor of conservation biology at
the University of Florida and editor of the journal Conservation
Biology.

A similar bill has been introduced in the House by Rep. Anna Eshoo,
D-Calif.

Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, discounted as "preposterous" any fears 
that current logging practices are endangering animal species.

"The 'scientists' involved in Senator Torricelli's photo op (including 
E.O. Wilson) are not qualified based upon their research and expertise 
to evaluate the proper management of the national forests," Murkowski 
said in a prepared statement.

###RELAYED TEXT ENDS###   
This document is for general distribution.  All efforts are made to 
provide accurate, timely pieces; though ultimate responsibility for 
verifying all information rests with the reader.  Check out our Gaia 
Forest Conservation Archives at URL= http://forests.org/   
Networked by Ecological Enterprises, gbarry@forests.org