WHERE THERE'S SMOKE: The head of the Bush administration's wildfire prevention program "doubts the existence of ecosystems and says it would not be a crisis if the nation's threatened and endangered species became extinct" reports the Seattle Times, Gannett News Service 8/31. Alan Fitzsimmons, whose free-market, libertarian background has "alarmed environmental groups across the West, denies charges that the president's Healthy Forest Initiative is a "cynical attempt to turn chains saws loose from sea to shining sea with smoke from forest fires as cover." ..............GREENLines today. A FEW HOUSE DEMOCRATS SUPPORTING LAWLESS LOGGING INSTEAD OF COMMUNITY PROTECTION The House of Representatives is moving quickly to pass lawless logging legislation based on the President's "healthy forests" plan. This Thursday, the House Resources Forest Subcommittee is expected to "mark-up" lawless logging legislation while the House Agriculture Forest Subcommittee is holding a hearing on the President's proposal to suspend environmental laws and eliminate public involvement. Unfortunately, a Democrat on each Committee has indicated that they will either support the President's harmful plan, or work for a "lawless logging-lite" compromise. This message is to alert you to this upcoming battle. Below is the text of a letter Sierra Club sent to Congress. BUSH/CRAIG LOGGING PLAN GUTS ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT ON AMERICAS NATIONAL FORESTS Americas national forests are home to bald eagles, grizzly bears, wild salmon and over 140 other at-risk species conserved under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Of all America's public lands: National Parks; National Monuments; areas administered by the Bureau of Land Management; even, National Wildlife Refuges, none support as many federally threatened and endangered species as America's National Forests. THE BUSH/CRAIG LOGGING PLANAn amendment to the Senate Interior Appropriations Bill offered by Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), to implement President Bush's "Healthy Forests Initiative", seeks to remove all protections for these special fish and wildlife resources by gutting the ESA and other conservation laws on America's National Forests.Using the mask of protecting communities from wildfire, the Bush/Craig logging plan seeks to hand America's national forests over to the timber industry by shutting the public and sound science out of public land management. The Bush/Craig logging plan attempts to exempt logging on America's National Forests from ALL public comment, environmental impact analysis and administrative appeals. If citizens challenge government logging activities in court the Bush/Craig plan seeks to skew the outcome of court decisions in favor of Forest Service timber managers by requiring judges to give deferenany any Forest Service opinion that the long-term benefits of the logging outweigh the environmental risks - effectively allowing judges to let the Forest Service ignore the requirements of the ESA at will. The Bush/Craig logging plan also seeks to mandate that consultations between Forest Service timber managers and wildlife biologists on the impacts of logging on threatened and endangered species be "expedited." IMPACT ON ENDANGERED SPECIES CONSERVATION The impact of the Bush/Craig logging plan on threatened and endangered species conservation will be significant. Expediting consultations between government timber managers and wildlife biologists on the impacts of logging on endangered species increases the likelihood that in the rush to promote logging decisions will not be made using the "best available science", as the ESA requires. Where impacts on listed species are identified citizens and scientists will have no opportunity to comment and advise the government on how to avoid those impacts. If the Forest Service chooses to allow logging that impacts endangered species, the Bush/Craig logging plan removes citizens rights to be involved in the management of America's National Forests except through costly and time consuming lawsuits. Even then, judges could arbitrarily decide to let the Forest Service ignore the ESA based on an agency opinion developed with no public input, no environmental impact analysis and hasty consultations with wildlife biologists.The Bush/Craig logging plan is a plan that sacrifices America's natural heritage to the sawmill. It is a plan that will do nothing to protect Americans from the risk of wildfire while increasing the risks facing America's imperiled fish and wildlife resources. It is a plan for extinction. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]