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New Report Identifies National Forest at Greatest Risk from Bush Administration Pro-Logging Policies
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Dr. E.O. Wilson, Greenpeace and the National Forest Protection Alliance Warn of “Endangered Forests, Endangered Freedoms”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 3, 2003
WASHINGTON – A nationwide coalition of environmental groups released a new report today that identifies the national forests at greatest risk from logging and documents the Bush Administration’s attempts to eliminate public oversight of environmental laws. Greenpeace and the National Forest Protection Alliance (NFPA) released Endangered Forests, Endangered Freedoms 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. For instance, on the Umpqua National Forest, hundreds of acres could be clearcut of old-growth forests, just this summer. Chosen as the 10 most endangered 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 National Forest (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 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.”
(more)
“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 Umpqua National forest made the list as one of the most endangered forest in America. The report also gave special mention to the Medford Bureau of Land Management District (Ore.) as the most endangered forest outside the national forest system.
“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’s a shame that so many of these forests are still on the chopping block.” Hundredes of acres of healthy old-grtowth could be clearcut near Lemolo Lkae just this summer Eatherington also said that 2,000 acres are proposed for salvage logging. “Eighty two percent of these burns were healthy underburns – salvage logging around these green old-growth forests would harm the healthiest forests on the Umpqua,” concluded Eatherington.
“When the Medford BLM carries out commercial timber sales the forests end up less healthy and more fire-prone than they were to begin with,” said Joseph Vaile of the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center. Vaile attributed the scale of old-growth and roadless logging and photographic evidence of post-logged areas to the inclusion of the Medford BLM in the report. “The Medford BLM is the only public forest outside Alaska where they are still virtually clearcut old-growth in unroaded areas greater than 5,000 acres.” Vaile was referring to the Kelsey Whisky timber sale where the BLM is logging over 500 acres in the Zane Grey roadless area on the Wild and Scenic Rogue River.
CONTACT: Joseph Vaile, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, 541-488-5789
Francis Eatherington, Umpqua Watersheds, 541-673-7649
Nancy Hwa, Greenpeace Media Officer, 202-319-2432 (office); 202-413-8521 (cell)
The report is available at www.greenpeaceusa.org.
# # #
WASHINGTON – A nationwide coalition of environmental groups released a new report today that identifies the national forests at greatest risk from logging and documents the Bush Administration’s attempts to eliminate public oversight of environmental laws. Greenpeace and the National Forest Protection Alliance (NFPA) released Endangered Forests, Endangered Freedoms 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. For instance, on the Umpqua National Forest, hundreds of acres could be clearcut of old-growth forests, just this summer. Chosen as the 10 most endangered 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 National Forest (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 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.”
(more)
“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 Umpqua National forest made the list as one of the most endangered forest in America. The report also gave special mention to the Medford Bureau of Land Management District (Ore.) as the most endangered forest outside the national forest system.
“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’s a shame that so many of these forests are still on the chopping block.” Hundredes of acres of healthy old-grtowth could be clearcut near Lemolo Lkae just this summer Eatherington also said that 2,000 acres are proposed for salvage logging. “Eighty two percent of these burns were healthy underburns – salvage logging around these green old-growth forests would harm the healthiest forests on the Umpqua,” concluded Eatherington.
“When the Medford BLM carries out commercial timber sales the forests end up less healthy and more fire-prone than they were to begin with,” said Joseph Vaile of the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center. Vaile attributed the scale of old-growth and roadless logging and photographic evidence of post-logged areas to the inclusion of the Medford BLM in the report. “The Medford BLM is the only public forest outside Alaska where they are still virtually clearcut old-growth in unroaded areas greater than 5,000 acres.” Vaile was referring to the Kelsey Whisky timber sale where the BLM is logging over 500 acres in the Zane Grey roadless area on the Wild and Scenic Rogue River.
CONTACT: Joseph Vaile, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, 541-488-5789
Francis Eatherington, Umpqua Watersheds, 541-673-7649
Nancy Hwa, Greenpeace Media Officer, 202-319-2432 (office); 202-413-8521 (cell)
The report is available at www.greenpeaceusa.org.
# # #