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Date:         Wed, 14 Jul 2004 17:46:25 -0400
Reply-To: End Commercial Logging Campaign Comm List              <[log in to unmask]>
Sender: End Commercial Logging Campaign Comm List              <[log in to unmask]>
From: Annie Strickler <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Forest Policy: Sierra Club Compares Records of President Bush and Senator Kerry
To: [log in to unmask]
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For Immediate Release: July 14, 2004
Contact: Annie Strickler, (202) 675-2384

 Sierra Club Compares Forest Policy Records of President Bush and Senator
                                   Kerry

Washington, D.C. - Americans who care about protecting their homes, wild
places and wildlife should take heart in Senator Kerry's National Forest
policy proposed today. Senator Kerry's proposal recognizes the importance
of protecting America's wild and ancient forests for current and future
generations and providing the necessary funds and resources to protect
communities from wildfire.

The Bush administration's version of forest policy does little or nothing
to reduce the risk of wildfire to Western communities while removing
citizen participation, interfering with the judicial system and increasing
commercial logging.

"President Bush and Senator Kerry offer very different priorities for the
proper management of America's National Forests," said Carl Pope, Sierra
Club Executive Director.  "Senator Kerry's proposal offers a strong
framework for protecting the best qualities of our National Forests and
creating valuable long-term jobs and economic benefits.  President Bush's
policy puts the interests of the timber industry first."

John Kerry's proposal would achieve the following:

=B7    Instead of wasting taxpayers' dollars to plan more clearcuts and buil=
d
more subsidized logging roads for the timber industry, the proposal
provides more funding and personnel for fuel reduction activities within
the "wildland-urban interface" to best help protect communities.
=B7    Protects the last remaining ancient and wild forests in Alaska, the
Pacific Northwest, Sierra Nevada mountains, Northern Rockies and the rare
old growth forests in the eastern United States.

The Bush administration's forest policies have:

=B7    Shifted priorities to the commercial timber sales program instead of
community protection.
=B7    Rewritten the Roadless Area Conservation Rule and removed protections
for America's last remaining wild forests including the Tongass and Chugach
National Forests;
=B7    Dramatically increased timber sales and subsidies including: 50 timbe=
r
sales planned in the Tongass alone; an extra $5 million to subsidize
commercial timber sales in the Tongass; and a proposed $6 million on one of
the largest timber sales in modern history in the remote Siskiyou Wild
Rivers region in southern Oregon. This sale alone could cost taxpayers
anywhere from $3 million to $100 million, according to the non-partisan
group Taxpayers for Common Sense.


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