Good news on Alaska! The House leadership pulled the Arctic Refuge
drilling
bill from the House floor yesterday! Hooray!! Also we had a winning
amendment to eliminate funding for roadbuilding in the Tongass!!!
See below for details.
Phyllis Mains
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From: "Erik DuMont" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "Alaska Wild Update" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [alaskawild] AlaskaWild Update #219
Date: Thu, Jun 17, 2004, 2:40 PM
TO: Alaska Coalition Leaders and Alaska Advocates
FR: Alaska Wilderness League
RE: AlaskaWild Update #219
DA: June 17, 2004
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"This amendment has nothing to do with the roadless rule. It has
everything
to do with good government."
-Representative Steve Chabot (R-OH),
6-16-04 on the floor of the House of Representatives about his amendment
to
eliminate Federal funding for building new Tongass logging roads.
HEADLINES
HOUSE VOTES TO ELIMINATE FUNDING FOR NEW LOGGING ROADS IN THE TONGASS
ARCTIC DRILLING BILL DELAYED
ACTIVIST RESOURCES
**********************************************************
BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ALASKA WILDERNESS LEAGUE!
Now more than 10,000 strong, the membership of the Alaska Wilderness
League
is what makes our work possible. With every added member, we become
louder,
more visible, more powerful, and more effective in our fight to protect
the
splendor of Alaska’s wilderness areas. Join us today! Visit our website
and
sign up on line or call us at 202 544 5205. We’ll keep you up to date on
Alaskan environmental issues with our quarterly newsletter, but most
importantly, you’ll be a part of the campaign to protect all of Alaska’s
wildlands, from the Tongass National Forest to the Arctic National
Wildlife
Refuge.Visit http://www.alaskawild.org and click on the bear to join!
If you’re already a member, spread the word! Tell friends and neighbors
about us, direct them to our website, and encourage them to join the
campaign today!
********************************************************
HOUSE VOTE TO ELIMINATE FUNDING FOR NEW LOGGING PROJECTS IN THE TONGASS
In a stunning bipartisan effort, last night the House of Representatives
voted 222 to 205 to limit money to build logging roads in the Tongass
National Forest.
The House of Representatives, debating the Interior Appropriation bill,
voted 222-205 in favor of an amendment to deny funding for the building
of
new logging roads in the Tongass National Forest.
The amendment to the FY2005 Interior Appropriations bill, sponsored by
Reps.
Steve Chabot (R-OH) and Robert Andrews (D-NJ), won by a vote of 222 to
205.
The amendment is supported by a broad coalition of taxpayer and budget
watchdog groups, sportsmen and conservationists.
Subsidized logging in the Tongass National Forest has cost American
taxpayers millions - in 2002 alone, the Forest Service spent $36 million
on
the Tongass logging program and received only $1 million in revenue. Over
the past two decades, losses have reached over $750 million.
"This is a major step toward saving our last great rainforest and saving
taxpayer money as well," said Tim Bristol, executive director of the
Alaska
Coalition. "Members of Congress from both parties took a hard look at the
colossal amount of tax dollars wasted on logging in the Tongass and
realized
it doesn't make sense."
"The Tongass is the crown jewel of the National Forest system," said
Laurie
Cooper, Campaign Manager of the Alaska Rainforest Campaign. "This is a
victory for America's Rainforest and America's taxpayers."
Yesterday's vote comes at a time when the Tongass is under increased
threat.
Currently the Forest Service is moving forward with nearly 50 timber
projects in roadless areas of the Tongass National Forest that until
December 2003 were protected from commercial logging under the Roadless
Rule.
"The leadership provided by Rep. Chabot and Rep. Andrews was invaluable,"
said Cindy Shogan, executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League.
"Americans and Tongass wildlife owe them a huge thanks."
The amendment was written to prevent any funding from being spent on
"planning, designing, studying, or construction of forest development
roads
in the Tongass National Forest for the purpose of harvesting timber by
private entities or individuals."
Go to
http://capwiz.com/awc/issues/votes/?votenum=253&chamber=H&congress=1082
to
thank your member of Congress.
ARCTIC DRILLING BILL DELAYED
The GOP leadership in the House of Representatives removed a bill from
the
floor that would have allowed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. In a win for common sense politics, the House leadership
determined
that drilling supporters did not have enough votes to win after several
major unions withdrew their support for the bill, in part because the
bill
made an uncertain link between drilling revenues and funding for mine
worker
pensions, and in part because of the political nature of the vote.
During the week of June 14, the Republican leadership in the House had
scheduled a series of energy votes on legislation that had already passed
once but stalled in the Senate in a shallow attempt to show that the
House
was responding to consumer's concerns over high gas prices. One of the
primary issues that the house had planned to vote on was a bill that
would
allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, despite the fact
that
a recent government report from the Energy Information Administration
shows
that oil from the Arctic Refuge would have no impact on gasoline prices.
Even though House Republicans admitted that the maneuver to offer the
Arctic
drilling bill was political and not likely to have any impact on the
Senate,
House leaders attached the bill to another bill that provided revenues to
help with miner's pension funds in an effort to entice Senators from
mining
states to support it. The effort backfired after the United Mine Workers
came out in opposition to the bill. Once it was clear that the House GOP
had over-reached and might not even have enough support to pass the bill.
Rep. Nick J. Rahall II (D-WV), the ranking Democrat on the House
Resources
Committee and a staunch defender of mining interests, said miners were
also
worried that the Arctic Refuge, with an unknown amount of oil, could be a
"dubious source of funding" to pay for retirement benefits for miners.
"[The] decision to pull legislation to open up the pristine Arctic
National
Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling reinforces the notion that this bill is a
terrible idea that will do nothing to reduce our dependence on foreign
oil.
The House Majority Leadership overreached today and was clearly rebuffed
by
a majority of House members who saw through this week's cynical ploy to
link
Arctic drilling with healthcare programs for struggling mining
communities,"
said Betsy Loyless of the League of Conservation Voters. "The House
Majority Leadership should listen to the Senate where a bipartisan
coalition
continues to reject this legislation."
In the end, although House members pulled the bill off the floor they
also
indicated that they may yet bring it back at some point in the future.
ACTIVIST RESOURCES
Alaska Wilderness League offers a free activist kit with Birthplace of
the
Caribou, a 15 minute DVD about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The
kit
also comes with tips on how to throw a great video party and how to bring
all of your friends on board to help protect the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. Birthplace of the Caribou is also available on video.
To get one of these video activist kits, simply send an email request to
[log in to unmask] along with your name and address. Please specify
whether
you want a DVD version or a video. These kits are NOT just for your
viewing
enjoyment! You will enjoy them, as will lots of other people so make sure
that you show them to lots of other people! Everyone needs to see these
amazing places! Please allow 4-6 weeks for shipment.
Take Action on to help save the Arctic at
http://www.alaskawild.org/takeaction_arctic.html.
Don’t know who your Representative is? Find out at
http://capwiz.com/awc/dbq/officials/.
Have your members of Congress cosponsored the Arctic Wilderness Bills
H.R.770 / S.543 and the Alaska Rainforest Conservation Act, H.R. 979? Go
to
http://thomas.loc.gov/ then type in the bill number to find out.
Cosponsors
are listed under “bill summary and status”.
U.S. Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
Senate Address: The Honorable _______, US Senate, Washington, DC 20510
House Address: The Honorable _______,US House of Representatives,
Washington, DC 20515
Contacting the President: George W. Bush, The White House, Washington DC
20500
Contacting the Secretary of the Interior: Gail Norton, 1849 C St, NW,
Washington DC 20240
White House Comment Desk: (202) 456-1111, Fax: (202) 456-2461
Send a letter to the editor of your local paper at
http://capwiz.com/awc/dbq/media/
Send a FREE fax to protect Alaska’s Rainforest at www.akrain.org
Erik DuMont
National Field Director
Alaska Wilderness League
122 C Street, NW Suite 240
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 544-5205, f: (202) 544-5197
[log in to unmask]
http://www.alaskawild.org/
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