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



>From: "Lnorrgard" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: "Lois LNorrgard" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Alert for Senate Tongass Subsidy Amendment
>Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 17:09:38 -0500
>
>Message
>
>
>
>
>CONSERVATION, SPORTING AND RELIGIOUS GROUPS
>
>WORKING TOGETHER TO PROTECT ALASKA'S PUBLIC LANDS
>
>
>
>Tell Your Senators to Vote YES on the Sununu/Bingaman Tongass Subsidy 
>Amendment to End Wasteful Spending and Protect the Tongass National Forest!
>
>
>
>June 24, 2005
>
>
>
>Dear Members of the Alaska Coalition and Activists,
>
>
>
>A month after the House was denied the chance, we are happy to report that 
>the Senate will have the opportunity to vote on the Tongass Subsidy 
>Amendment to end taxpayer subsidies used to build new logging roads in the 
>Tongass National Forest.   Furthermore., we are delighted to announce that 
>Senator John Sununu (R-NH) will be leading the charge! with Senator Jeff 
>Bingaman (D, NM) as co-sponsor.
>
>
>
>Speaking up for taxpayers and the Tongass, Senator Sununu (R-NH) will offer 
>the Tongass Subsidy Amendment to the Interior Appropriations Bill as early 
>as next week.   Due to the limited time, it is very important that we 
>contact our Senators as soon as possible and urge them to support this 
>amendment, votes may be as early as Tuesday.
>
>
>
>To Take Action Now:
>
>
>
>1. Call Your Members of Congress :
>Senator Chuck Grassley  Phone: 202-224-3744 Fax: 202-224-6020
>
>Senator Tom Harkin   Phone: 202-224-3254 Fax:  202-224-9369
>
>
>
>2. Email Your Members of Congress : [log in to unmask]    
>[log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>3. Spread the Word: Ask your family and friends to call and email their 
>Senators as well. The more calls and emails we get into their offices the 
>better are chances are!
>
>
>
>Now more than ever we need to tell Congress that we don't want to pay to 
>pave and log America's Rainforest!
>
>More Information:
>
>The U.S. Senate is expected to begin debate next week on the Interior 
>Appropriations bill and will take up Senator John Sununu's amendment to end 
>taxpayer subsidies in the Tongass National Forest.
>
>
>
>Last year the Tongass Subsidy amendment, offered by Reps. Chabot and 
>Andrews, passed the U.S. House by a strong bi-partisan majority before it 
>was eventually dropped from the Interior bill during conference committee 
>negotiations. So far this year, U.S. House member have been prevented from 
>voting on the popular measure.
>
>
>
>That's why it is so important that we urge the Senate to do the right thing 
>and pass the Tongass Subsidy amendment next week!
>
>
>
>At a time when the government is running huge budget deficits, the Forest 
>Service wasted $48 million taxpayer dollars last year to subsidize the 
>timber industry's clearcutting of America's Rainforest - and they want to 
>continue to throw good money after bad. If the Bush administration were to 
>stick to its proposed logging schedule in the Tongass, over the next decade 
>America's taxpayers can expect to continue to lose tens of millions of 
>dollars annually-a hefty price tag for clearcutting America's Rainforest.
>
>
>
>If the President and Congress are serious about cutting government waste, 
>the subsidy to the logging industry in Alaska is a good place to start. It 
>should not be the responsibility of American taxpayers to foot the bill to 
>clearcut America's rainforest. American taxpayers deserve better and so 
>does America's Rainforest.
>
>
>
>What is at Stake:
>
>The Tongass is a national treasure. Created in 1907 by Teddy Roosevelt, the 
>Tongass is America's largest national forest and the largest intact 
>temperate rainforest in the world. This coastal temperate rainforest-an 
>ecosystem even more rare and threatened than tropical rainforests **-boasts 
>towering stands of spruce, hemlock, and cedar. Soaking up more than 100 
>inches of rain per year, the forests of the Tongass provide critical 
>habitat for healthy populations of grizzly bears, black bears, Sitka 
>black-tailed deer, eagles, wolves, and 5 species of wild salmon. Mountain 
>goats roam the steep slopes and rocky mountaintops of the coastal range and 
>countless streams running through mist-shrouded valleys are the spawning 
>grounds for millions of salmon.
>
>
>
>** The temperate rainforest is the rarest ecosystem or biome in the world, 
>and was originally found only along North America's northwest coast, the 
>southern coast of Chile, in Tasmania, along the west coast of 
>Scotland/Norway, and to lesser extent, along Japan's Hokkaido Island. Today 
>almost this entire magnificent forest ecosystem is gone. The most intact 
>belt of temperate rainforest runs along the coast of British Colombia to 
>Alaska's Glacier Bay region (Tongass), though sprinklings remain in 
>California, Washington, Oregon, and in Prince William Sound.
>
>
>
>Let's tell our Senators to stop using taxpayer subsidies to log our 
>nation's largest national forest.
>
>
>
>With limited time we need to get this message out quickly and to as many 
>people as we can, so please be sure to pass this news onto your family and 
>friends and ask them to contact their Senators today! With enough pressure 
>from the grassroots we can make sure that the Senate does what the House 
>couldn't do last month, pass a fiscally-responsible amendment that is good 
>for taxpayers and the Tongass National Forest.
>
>
>
>If you have any questions or want to know other ways you can help, please 
>send an email to [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>Sincerely,
>
>
>
>The Alaska Coalition
>
>www.alaskacoalition.org
>
>
>Lois Norrgard
>Regional Organizer
>Alaska Coalition
>10368 Columbus Circle
>Bloomington MN 55420
>ph/fx: 952.881-7282
>[log in to unmask]

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