CALL YOUR SENATOR AT THE DC SWITCHBOARD (202) 224 3121

FUTURE OF FOREST PROTECTION AT STAKE

Our Senators need to hear from you on this week. Tell them to oppose the
Craig/Domenici Healthy Forest Initiative amendment, uphold environmental
laws and make community protection the priority under
the National Fire Plan.

This vote could take place on Wednesday, September 4.

Our wild forests are in danger!  A cynical ploy to use this summer's spate
of fires as an excuse to gut crucial forest protections could come up for a
vote in Congress tomorrow.  The plan does nothing to protect communities
threatened by fires, and instead opens up more of our wild forests for
commercial logging.

We need your help.  Contact our senators and urge them to oppose the
Craig-Domenici amendment on forest fires.  Instead, they should support
legislation that: 1) makes protecting communities from fires the number one
priority 2) protects our forests from logging and road-building 3) upholds
crucial forest safeguards

Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224 3121.  Ask for your senators.
Deliver the message.  Help protect our wild forests.

WHAT IS AT STAKE
Over the past eight weeks, forest fire issues have taken on increasing
urgency.   President Bush's "Healthy Forest Initiative" announced last
Thursday has dramatically changed the course of the debate.

No matter what forest conservation issue that you care about - whether
it is wilderness designation, roadless area protection, forest and
watershed restoration or old growth protection - the pending vote on the
Senate Interior Appropriations will effect your ability to protect and
defend your forest.

In addition, we still expect Senators Craig, Domenici and others to
introduce an amendment to the Interior Appropriations bill when the
Senate begins consideration of the Interior Appropriations bill on
September 4th.   Specific language has not been available so it is
unclear how far or how bad the amendment will be, but the President's
plan provides a good indication of what the amendment could look like.
At stake is:

- Suspension of environmental laws.  If the amendment goes as far as the
Black Hills rider, we could see a suspension of all environmental laws
similar to what happened with the now infamous salvage logging rider.
Millions of acres of green trees were logged in the name of salvage.

- Removing public participation from federal land management decisions.
The administrative appeals process - citizens' basic right to be
involved in forest management decisions could be eliminated or
curtailed.

- Aggressive "thinning" across millions of acres of backcountry forests
miles away from communities.

- Authorization of stewardship contracting authorities including "goods
for services".  This provision will allow logging companies and the
Forest Service to log large fire resistant trees to pay for hazardous
fuel work. Logging large fire resistant trees increases the risk of fire
severity, and lets the commodity value of the timber drive logging to
the backcountry where the bigger trees are located.

- Increased logging of mature and old growth in the Pacific Northwest.
Bush's plan supports legislation to increase timber sales west of the
Cascades by "removing needless administrative obstacles" to allow
logging of mature and old growth forests.  This move would essentially
reinstate timber targets for the west side "owl forests".

MEDIA SEES THOUGH BUSH'S SMOKESCREEN
Fortunately, the media is seeing right through the logging smokescreen.
The majority of the media coverage and editorials across the country are
calling it as they see it: The healthy forests initiative is a blatant
giveaway to the President's timber industry friends that will log larger
fire resistant trees in the name of hazardous fuels reduction. Bush's
plan can actually increase fire risk and is sure to continue public
controversy.

CALLS TO SENATORS NEEDED
We expect that Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Senator Tom Daschle
(D-SD) will bring a substitute to Craig/Domenici amendment.

CALL YOUR SENATOR AT THE DC SWITCHBOARD 202.224.3121 AND URGE THEM TO
SUPPORT LEGISLATION THAT WILL:

1. Make community protection from fire risks the priority under the
National Fire Plan.  Appropriate adequate funds to do the work where it
will do the most good.  Appropriate $2 billion per year for five years
for community protection.

2. Direct 90% of the fuel reduction funding immediately adjacent to
homes in the Community Protection Zone - not in the backcountry.  The
best Forest Service fire science research indicates that the most
effective way to protect homes is to clear flammable fuels within
100-200 feet of the home and up to a maximum of 500 meters to ensure
firefighter safety.

Unfortunately, the Forest Service continues to ignore their own research
and spends the majority of their fireproofing resources far away from
this zone.  Currently, about two-thirds of the acres treated for
hazardous fuels are miles away from the Community Protection Zone.

3. Oppose any legislation that would waive environmental laws or
judicial reviews and increase logging in wild areas, far away from homes
and communities.  There is no need to suspend or weaken environmental
laws to carry out legitimate fuels reduction adjacent to communities.

4. Provide that 75% of hazardous fuel funding go directly to
state/tribal fire assistance. More than eighty percent of the high-risk
areas in the Community Protection Zone is in private ownership.  These
funds should be used for public education and outreach on making homes
"firewise," homeowner cost share grants, seed money for community
protection, and treatment of non-federal lands in the Community Zone.

5. Oppose stewardship contracting authorities that would allow the
logging of large fire resistant trees to pay for hazardous fuel work.

CALL EARLY AND CALL OFTEN.  With your help we can defeat the
Craig/Domenici amendment.

Thanks for all your of your incredible work !!!!!

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