DISCLAIMER:  The press release titled "With Fire Season Heating Up, Sierra
Club Educates Public About Forest Fires" is to be
used only for charitable and public education purposes as it was created
using 501(c)(3) funds.  Please feel free to send that release to other
reporters, colleagues and interested parties, but further distribution of
that release must also be for charitable purposes, not for legislative
lobbying.  Communications with Congress that are aimed at influencing an
administrative action rather than legislation are not lobbying.


For Immediate Release: May 14, 2002
Contact: Annie Strickler, (202) 675-2384

  With Fire Season Already Heating Up, Sierra Club Educates Public About
                               Forest Fires
     Key to Quiet Season Is Protecting, Not Logging, National Forests

Washington, D.C. --  As high temperatures and dry conditions begin to make
their annual summer appearance, the Sierra Club is helping prepare the
public for the 2002 fire season. Americans can learn more about protecting
their homes, defusing fire threats and restoring our forests' health by
checking out the report "Forest Fires: Beyond the Heat and Hype" at
http://www.sierraclub.org/logging. The report examines how the federal
government and the logging industry have exacerbated risks of catastrophic
fires, and what the U.S. can do to protect our homes and restore fire's
natural role to our forests.

"With a few wildfires already burning in the American West and drought
conditions in the Southwest and Southeast, the fire season, and timber
industry rhetoric, will surely heat up," said Sean Cosgrove, Sierra Club
forest policy specialist. "We hope Americans see the industry's smokescreen
for what it is: an attempt to use wildfires as an excuse to increase the
destructive commercial logging on our National Forests, especially the
roadless areas the Bush administration has failed to protect."

"Decades of misguided policies by the government and logging industry have
changed healthy forests and increased the severity of forest fires," said
Cosgrove. "But by using controlled burns, we can reduce brush that has
built up from decades of fire suppression. By taking common-sense measures,
we can help homeowners keep their families safe."

The report includes a list of 10 steps homeowners can take to make homes
firesafe, including:
-    Clean pine needles, branches and other flammable materials from areas
near roofs and gutters;
-    Remove any tree limbs extending within 10 feet of any chimney or wood
stove flue;
-    Store propane tanks away from buildings and clear flammable vegetation
from tank areas; and
-    Stack firewood and store picnic table, boats and other flammable
materials away from home.

The report is available at www.sierraclub.org/logging or by emailing
[log in to unmask]

For more information on wildfires throughout this fire season, please
contact the following people:

National: Sean Cosgrove, (202) 675-2382 or Mitzi Emrich (202) 675-2389
Western states: Eric Wessleman in California, (510) 622-0290
    Roger Singer in Idaho, (208) 284-1023
Great Lakes: Clyde Hanson (612) 920-4777
Northwest: Bill Arthur, (206) 378-0114
Southeast: David Muhly, (276) 688-2190
Southwest: Rob Smith, (602) 254-9330
Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas: Ayelet Hines, (512) 472-9094

                                  ###

Erin Jordahl
Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club
3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280
Des Moines, IA 50310
515-277-8868
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]