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New report Identifies Medford BLM as Most Endangered Forest Outside National Forest System
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 3, 2003
Roseburg, OR – Greenpeace joined a national coalition of environmental groups released a new report at a press conference today in Washington, D.C., identifying the national forests at greatest risk from logging and documenting the Bush Administration’s attempts to eliminate public oversight of environmental laws. The Umpqua National Forest was included as one of America’s most endangered National Forests in the report Endangered Forests, Endangered Freedoms because of proposed old-growth, roadless area and salvage logging. The Medford BLMwas chosen as the most endangered federal forest outside the national forest system because of the continued unsustainable logging of healthy forests under the guise of forest health.
“The Umpqua National Forest boasts some of the finest ancient forests remaining in the country,” said Francis Eatherington from the Roseburg-based Umpqua Watersheds. “It is a shame that so many of these forest are still on the chopping block.” Eatherington also said that salvage logging of natural and human caused fires on nearly 100,000 acres threatens green old-growth. “Eighty two percent of these burns were healthy underburns in healthy forests – salvage logging these forests would be an insult.” concluded Eatherington.
Greenpeace along with the National Forest Protection Alliance released the report in response to the Administration’s unprecedented attacks on America’s national forests. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr. E.O. Wilson of Harvard University joined the groups to call for an end to logging in these national treasures.
“Scientists have reached a deeper understanding of the value of the National Forest System that needs to be kept front and center,” said Dr. Wilson. “They represent a public trust too valuable to be managed as tree farms for the production of pulp, paper and lumber. The time has come to free national forests from political partisanship, and to use their treasures to benefit all Americans.”
Forests were selected based on several criteria, including water quality, road construction, the presence of endangered and threatened species, timber sale volume and economics, and the percentage of remaining old-growth and roadless areas. [more verbage on your forest?]
Chosen as the 10 most endangered national forests were Apache-Sitgreaves (Ariz./N.M.), Bitterroot (Mont.), Black Hills (S.D.), Chequemegan- Nicolet (Wis.), George Washington-Jefferson (Va.), Kootenai (Mont.), Mississippi’s National Forests (Miss.), Plumas (Calif.), Tongass (Alaska), and Umpqua (Ore.).
“Endangered Forests, Endangered Freedoms provides the American public with a detailed and scientific account of the current ecological state of the National Forest
-more-
system,” said Jake Kreilick, Project Coordinator of NFPA. “By citing direct evidence of
environmental damage in 10 particularly endangered forests, it paints a grim picture of the Bush Administration’s mismanagement of our precious public lands.”
The report lists specific actions taken by the Bush Administration to achieve its pro-logging agenda, namely:
- limiting the public’s right to participate in decisions affecting their public lands;
- using stealthy administrative rule changes to undermine fundamental environmental laws, such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Forest Management Act;
- using the threat of wildfires to give timbers companies access to remote intact forests for logging;
- dismantling rules that protect forests from roadbuilding and commercial development; and
- turning over large tracts of National Forest land to logging companies under the guise of “Stewardship Contracting.”
“This fight is not just about saving trees,” said John Passacantando, Executive Director of Greenpeace. “We are fighting for the principle that some places in this country are so special that they belong to all Americans. And we are fighting for the right of the people to have a say in the future of those places.”
The report gave special mention to Allegheny National Forest (Pa.), the Medford Bureau of Land Management District (Ore.) and Sequoia National Monument (Calif.). Nine other forests were listed as “threatened.”
CONTACT: Francis Eatherington – Umpqua Watersheds – (541)
Joseph Vaile – Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center – (541)488-5789
The report is available at www.greenpeaceusa.org.
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Roseburg, OR – Greenpeace joined a national coalition of environmental groups released a new report at a press conference today in Washington, D.C., identifying the national forests at greatest risk from logging and documenting the Bush Administration’s attempts to eliminate public oversight of environmental laws. The Umpqua National Forest was included as one of America’s most endangered National Forests in the report Endangered Forests, Endangered Freedoms because of proposed old-growth, roadless area and salvage logging. The Medford BLMwas chosen as the most endangered federal forest outside the national forest system because of the continued unsustainable logging of healthy forests under the guise of forest health.
“The Umpqua National Forest boasts some of the finest ancient forests remaining in the country,” said Francis Eatherington from the Roseburg-based Umpqua Watersheds. “It is a shame that so many of these forest are still on the chopping block.” Eatherington also said that salvage logging of natural and human caused fires on nearly 100,000 acres threatens green old-growth. “Eighty two percent of these burns were healthy underburns in healthy forests – salvage logging these forests would be an insult.” concluded Eatherington.
Greenpeace along with the National Forest Protection Alliance released the report in response to the Administration’s unprecedented attacks on America’s national forests. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr. E.O. Wilson of Harvard University joined the groups to call for an end to logging in these national treasures.
“Scientists have reached a deeper understanding of the value of the National Forest System that needs to be kept front and center,” said Dr. Wilson. “They represent a public trust too valuable to be managed as tree farms for the production of pulp, paper and lumber. The time has come to free national forests from political partisanship, and to use their treasures to benefit all Americans.”
Forests were selected based on several criteria, including water quality, road construction, the presence of endangered and threatened species, timber sale volume and economics, and the percentage of remaining old-growth and roadless areas. [more verbage on your forest?]
Chosen as the 10 most endangered national forests were Apache-Sitgreaves (Ariz./N.M.), Bitterroot (Mont.), Black Hills (S.D.), Chequemegan- Nicolet (Wis.), George Washington-Jefferson (Va.), Kootenai (Mont.), Mississippi’s National Forests (Miss.), Plumas (Calif.), Tongass (Alaska), and Umpqua (Ore.).
“Endangered Forests, Endangered Freedoms provides the American public with a detailed and scientific account of the current ecological state of the National Forest
-more-
system,” said Jake Kreilick, Project Coordinator of NFPA. “By citing direct evidence of
environmental damage in 10 particularly endangered forests, it paints a grim picture of the Bush Administration’s mismanagement of our precious public lands.”
The report lists specific actions taken by the Bush Administration to achieve its pro-logging agenda, namely:
- limiting the public’s right to participate in decisions affecting their public lands;
- using stealthy administrative rule changes to undermine fundamental environmental laws, such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Forest Management Act;
- using the threat of wildfires to give timbers companies access to remote intact forests for logging;
- dismantling rules that protect forests from roadbuilding and commercial development; and
- turning over large tracts of National Forest land to logging companies under the guise of “Stewardship Contracting.”
“This fight is not just about saving trees,” said John Passacantando, Executive Director of Greenpeace. “We are fighting for the principle that some places in this country are so special that they belong to all Americans. And we are fighting for the right of the people to have a say in the future of those places.”
The report gave special mention to Allegheny National Forest (Pa.), the Medford Bureau of Land Management District (Ore.) and Sequoia National Monument (Calif.). Nine other forests were listed as “threatened.”
CONTACT: Francis Eatherington – Umpqua Watersheds – (541)
Joseph Vaile – Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center – (541)488-5789
The report is available at www.greenpeaceusa.org.
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