ACTION
ALERT
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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
Ancient
Redwoods, Endangered Species Under Attack
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Forest
Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
http://forests.org/
5/9/98
OVERVIEW
& COMMENTARY by EE
Rainforest
Action Network reports on continued clearing of the few
remaining
ancient redwood groves, which has severe impacts upon
several
endangered species. Please respond to
this appeal for
letters.
g.b.
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RELAYED
TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Ancient Redwoods, Endangered Species
Under Attack
Source: Rainforest Action Network Action Alert 137
Status: Distribute freely accredited to source
Date: May 1, 1998
RAINFOREST
ACTION NETWORK
ACTION
ALERT 137 -- MAY/JUNE 1998
ANCIENT
REDWOODS, ENDANGERED SPECIES
UNDER
FEDERAL ATTACK
The
federal government's $380 million deal to buy part of Headwaters
forest
from Pacific Lumber continues to be mired in controversy-as
opposition
has quickly mounted to the agreement's weak provisions for
endangered
species protection. At the center of
the dispute is a new
Interior
Department plan, ostensibly crafted to protect endangered
species
while allowing Pacific Lumber to continue harvesting old
growth
trees. The "Habitat Conservation
Plan," to be released in full
detail
in May, has raised concerns among scientists, residents, and
environmentalists
that the government is abandoning endangered species
and old
growth trees in favor of a quick settlement with Pacific
Lumber's
parent company, Houston-based Maxxam.
As part
of a deal between the federal government and Maxxam, the U.S.
Department
of the Interior will allow logging of old growth trees
under
the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). Environmental groups have
been
nearly unanimous in their opposition to the plan, based on a
preview
released in March.
Kevin
Bundy of the Environmental Protection Information Center is
incredulous:
the HCP "would allow Pacific Lumber to clearcut ancient
redwoods
and Douglas fir while avoiding significant protection for
salmon"
and the endangered marbled murrelet. In
effect, the HCP gives
Maxxam
a license to kill endangered species.
Meanwhile,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Interior Department
agency
that administers conservation plans, remains enthusiastic about
its
compromise, which the agency describes as grounded in solid
environmental
science.
Despite
this assertion, two U.S. Forest Service scientists went public
with
their doubts about the plan, calling into question its ability in
present
form to protect the fragile river network where coho salmon
live.
Forty-six top wildlife biologists concurred, and sent a letter
to
President Clinton protesting the inadequacy of the Headwaters HCP,
which
may push many native species into extinction.
Specifically,
scientists are concerned that the plan would allow
commercial
timber harvesting next to streams inhabited by salmon,
leaves
critical details to be determined by a three-year "watershed
analysis,"
and would allow logging of many ancient redwood stands
occupied
by the endangered marbled murrelet. In
addition, the HCP
gives
Pacific Lumber substantial discretion over its old growth
logging,
despite its track record of environmental mismanagement-the
company
has committed over 200 violations of Forest Practices rules in
the
last three years.
Less
than four percent of the original ancient forests in the U.S. are
still
standing. Worldwide, logging and other
causes of deforestation
have
destroyed all but 20 percent of the planet's old growth forests.
"Our
culture has moved beyond hunting whales to extinction and
slaughtering
elephants for ivory," says RAN Program Director
Christopher
Hatch: "Now it is time we abandon
the practice of
destroying
the oldest, largest, and tallest living things on Earth."
"The
Federal government is selling off the last of our ancient
redwoods,"
adds RAN Executive Director Kelly Quirke.
"Our children's
heritage
hangs in the balance."
WHAT
YOU CAN DO
The Fish and Wildlife Service will open the HCP
to public comment in
late
May. It is important for the agency to
receive letters of
concern
even before the public comment period begins, which will help
strengthen
the plan that is ultimately presented.
Write
to Michael Spear, Regional Director for the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife
Service, and let him know your concerns. Here is a sample
letter:
Michael
Spear
U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service
911 NE
11th Ave.
Portland,
OR 97232
Dear
Mr. Spear,
I have
learned recently about the Habitat Conservation Plan that your
agency
intends to release in late May. A
number of top scientists,
though,
have warned that this plan will endanger, not protect,
vulnerable
species like the marbled murrelet and the coho salmon.
Your
agency is funded by taxpayers like me; why are you giving $380
million
of our money to Maxxam while allowing our crucial
environmental
laws to be compromised? You have an
obligation to act
on our
behalf as a caretaker of public lands, not a matchmaker for
corporate
forestry deals. Please explain to me
how you intend to
strengthen
the current Habitat Conservation Plan.
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