From Sierra Club DC Public Lands Action Update Forest Issues June 2003 Congress is Deep in the Woods House Sends Bad Wildfire Legislation to the Senate On May 20, the US House of Representatives approved legislation that represents a major blow to Western communities who are looking to Congress for help in protecting themselves from the threat of wildfire. House supporters of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003 (HR 1904) exploited the fear of fire to pass a provision that directly benefits the timber industry-- while doing almost nothing to help the communities threatened by fire. Not only is the bill based on false assumptions about the impact of environmental reviews and legal appeals of fuel reduction projects, it also unnecessarily weakens environmental protections and the fundamental right of the public to participate in forest planning on taxpayer-owned lands. In passing the McInnis bill, the House of Representatives ignored concerns raised by dozens of groups and individuals, including REP America, the national grassroots organization of Republicans for Environmental Protection, National Organization for Women, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, League of Conservation Voters, and more than 50 county commissioners and other local officials from across the nation. During the month of June, the U.S. Senate is expected to take up similar legislation. Visit http://www.sierraclub.org/logging for regular updates! National Forest Protection and Restoration Act Reintroduced In May, the Sierra Club welcomed the reintroduction of the National Forest Protection and Restoration Act, a bill that helps preserve America's natural heritage and save taxpayers money. We applaud this bipartisan group of 86 Representatives who support this bill, and we are especially grateful to Representative Jim Leach (R-IA) for his vision. This bill will help ensure that our children and grandchildren will inherit a legacy where National Forests filter pollution out of the water, protect us from flooding, provide wildlife habitat and a place to play and find a little peace. By putting America's National Forests off-limits to commercial logging, this bill will save taxpayers billions of dollars and would redirect the money saved to restore forests and help diversify the economies of communities that receive revenues from federal logging activities. NFPRA sets forth a vision for America's forests, one that frees up funds now wasted on commercial logging and dedicates these resources to true restoration and community protection from fire. Wild Forest Protection After the largest public comment process in the history of the federal government, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule was enacted in 2000 by President Clinton and protects nearly 60 million acres of our Nation's last remaining wild forests. Despite this overwhelming public support for protecting our last wild forests, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule was placed on hold by the Bush administration. Recent court rulings have made the Rule the law of the land, but the administration remains intent upon weakening the Rule. With yesterday's announcement weakening roadless area protections, the Bush Administration has emblazoned a bull's-eye on America's favorite unspoiled forests. The Forest Service claimed that while it will retain the popular Roadless Area Conservation Rule in theory, it will allow states pressured by the timber industry to exempt their from the roadless policy. The Administration also announced it will file a lawsuit settlement with the State of Alaska tomorrow to exempt the Tongass National Forest from the roadless policy. Our wild forests deserve strong policy protection! The Roadless Area Conservation Act, which seeks to use legislation as a means for making the Rule federal law, was reintroduce introduced in House of Representative on Thursday, June 5 by Representatives Inslee (D-WA) and Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY). Senators Cantwell (D-WA) and Warner (R-VA) also introduced a similar version of the bill in the U.S. Senate. Take Action: Please call you Members of Congress and urge them to protect America's last remaining wild forests by supporting the Inslee/Boehlert bill and opposing any attempts made by the Bush administration to weaken the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Call (202) 224-3121. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp