Yesterday Infobeat quoted the president as assuring the timber industries that what he is saving is only a minuscule portion of all the national forests and that all the places that have been open to the timber industry are still open. Here is a cut and past from the article "The remote, largely pristine parcels of land Clinton wants to preserve represent a mere fraction of federally owned forest, he said. Vast reaches of other federal timberland are already available for logging and other development." He assured them that national forests were not going to be "museums". (Aren't museums full of stale air and dead things?) Somehow I think this is much less than 100% of what I hope for. A couple of years ago I took a drive through North and South Carolina and couldn't believe that what I was seeing was national forest. It was clearcut fields alternating with fields that were just beginning to grow back.... And this belongs to us? I think it belongs to the timber industry, and that they should be paying more than the market price for the privilege of cutting down our living natural heritage. Peggy Murdock At 11:29 PM 10/13/99 , you wrote: >FROM MELANIE GRIFFIN AT SIERRA CLUB, forwarded by Jane Clark at >[log in to unmask] >=========================================================== > AWESOME NEWS ON FOREST WILDLANDS! > > And the verdict is - 100%! We have obtained a copy of the announcement >being > made by the President this afternoon. No half-a-loaf here, it is all we > could have hoped for. President Clinton is making a major announcement >which > opens the door for permanent protection for all of the last remaining > roadless areas in America's National Forests. The Administration will be > initiating an Environmental Impact Statement on the management of all > inventoried roadless areas, including the possibility of a nationwide halt >to > road construction and all other damaging activities for 40 million acres >of > unprotected forests. > > We wholeheartedly support the Administration's vision of full protection >for > these areas. A wide open comment period on roadless area protection gives >us > a historic opportunity to educate and mobilize citizens on behalf of our >wild > forest lands. We could not have asked for a better initiative. It will > allow review and comment on permanent protection for roadless areas in all > National Forests, including Alaska's Tongass, and on all damaging >activities, > not just roadbuilding. > > The Club's Wildlands Campaign will be working with staff to develop a > strategy for generating massive public support for the Administration's >plan. > Stay tuned... > > > ****************************************************************** > DETAILS FROM THE MEMO YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED LAST NIGHT: > > 1) Background > The Administration will announce that they will start an environmental > impact statement with review and comment periods on a range of > possible roadless area policies. The Administration announcement will > apply to all inventoried roadless areas on all National Forests in the > lower 48 states and the Chugach National Forest in AK and include the > Tongass National Forest to some degree. This process will especially > review road construction and logging in roadless areas but could also > include ORVs, mining or other destructive activities. The broader the > initial geographic and management scope, the more opportunity we have > to mobilize and focus public support for the protection of all > roadless areas. Protection of Forest Service wildlands is a major > part of our wildlands protection effort and Sierra Club is very > excited about this opportunity. This entire process will not be > completed until early summer of 2000 but it starts with the "Notice of > Intent" announcement on Oct. 13. > > 2) TALK POINTS > > - Sierra Club supports the Clinton Administration's vision to ensure > protection for National Forest roadless areas. This is a great step > for the protection of our National Forests and to ensure healthy, > productive forests for future generations of Americans. > > - Sierra Club believes that permanent protection should be given to > all National Forest roadless areas across the nation and applauds > today's announcement as the start of an effort to ensure permanent > protection. > > - The roadless (or undeveloped forest) areas of America's National > Forests provide the best remaining unprotected habitat for fish and > wildlife, opportunities for backcountry recreation and solitude, and > clean drinking water, as well as opportunities for scientific study. > Roadless areas are the remnants of our nation's forest heritage and > deserve permanent protection. Sierra Club also supports an end to > commercial logging on the National Forests and a substantial > investment in restoring damaged areas. > > - Over half of America's National Forests have already been been > logged, mined and exploited -- often at taxpayer expense. Less than > 20 percent is permanently protected. It is time to permanently > protect these incredibly valuable remaining wild forests. > > 5) Questions and Answers > > Q: What did the President announce? > A: The start of an environmental impact statement with review and > public comment periods on a range of possible National Forest roadless > area management policies. > > Q: Why is this important? > A: This is a historic opportunity to permanently protect the best > remaining forest wildlands in the United States. This process could > decide the future of 60 million acres of America's public forests and > has great implications for fish and wildlife, recreation and our > natural heritage. > > Q: What is a "roadless area?" > A: An area within National Forests that has not been damaged by roads, > logging or other activities but is not currently protected. These > areas vary in size and scale but can consist of a block of land over > 10,000 acres in the Northern Rockies (but are not limited to such > large blocks) or a special ecologically sensitive area of 250 acres in > heavily fragmented National Forests in the east. > > Q: What is so special about roadless areas? > A: Roadless areas often provide the best unprotected fish and wildlife > habitat, backcountry recreation and clean water supplies. Roadless > areas act as refuges for wildlife because they are often remote and > isolated areas surrounded by logging roads and exploitive use. They > are also the lands that are the most at risk to damaging activities. > > Q: How many acres of roadless areas are there? > A: Of the 192 million acres of National Forests, roughly 60 million > acres of unprotected roadless areas remain on the National Forests. > The President's announced review will cover about 40 million acres of > "inventoried" areas. "Inventoried" generally refers to areas that are > 5000 acres and larger but a growing body of science supports the > protection of smaller areas also. Another 20 million roadless acres > exist outside of "inventoried" areas. Thus, the President's > announcement could safeguard 40 million acres of prime forest that is > undisturbed, but also unprotected. > > Q: What happens after the President's announcement? > A: The Forest Service will start an environmental impact statement > (EIS) that will review the future management of roadless areas. The > public will have several opportunities to comment including a 45 day > period starting shortly after the announcement. The EIS process will > likely be completed in early summer of 2000 after another public > comment period on draft alternatives for roadless area management. > > Q: Why should the general public care about this announcement? > A: The National Forests are owned by all Americans no matter what part > of the country they live in. The public has the right and the > opportunity to influence the management of their public lands. > Recreation demand on the National Forests increases every year while > dependence on National Forest wood products decreases. Only 4% of the > wood and wood products used by Americans comes from the Natioanl > Forests. Commercial logging on National Forests has lost American > taxpayers $2 billion from 1992-97. National Forests also produce 38 > jobs from recreation and fish and wildlife for every one logging job. > Continued subsidized logging, grazing and mining of the National > Forests is an environmental and economic concern for all Americans. > >- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - >For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT >to [log in to unmask] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT to [log in to unmask]