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New regulations do not promote natural
forests.
The Bush administration has
recently released new rules for managing our National Forests
that are marketed as “streamlining the process”. In
truth, these regulations take the public out of the process and
remove important environmental review processes for forest
projects.
Specifically, the new National Forest Management Act rules
eliminate fundamental wildlife protections and will open up
millions of acres of National Forests - including old growth,
roadless areas and sensitive wildlife habitat - to harmful
activities. They also disregard sound science and shut the
public out of meaningful input on how OUR National Forests are
managed.
Although the new regulations eliminate many protections without
opportunity for public comment, there is an opportunity to
comment on one proposed change -- the proposal to exempt forest
management plans from environmental review and public input under
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The rest of the
rule changes are final as of January 5, 2005.
ACTION NEEDED by
March 7, 2005: Please use the letter below (feel free to use as
is or edit as you see fit) and fax or send to the Forest Service or go to www.heartwood.org
to send a comment letter with a click of a button.
USDA Content Analysis Team
Attention: Planning CE
P.O. Box 22777
Salt Lake City, UT 84122
Fax: 801.517.1015
Consider copying the letter to the President, your senators, and
the Forest Coalition. For a directory of your representatives, go
to http://www.vote-smart.org/.
Thank you for participating in this campaign.
Jackie Dobrinska
Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition
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Sample Letter
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Date
USDA Content Analysis Team
Attention: Planning CE
P.O. Box 22777
Salt Lake City, UT 84122
Fax: 801.517.1015
Dear USDA Content Analysis Team:
I strongly oppose the January 5, 2005 proposed rule change that
would exempt forest management plans, revisions, or amendments
from environmental review and meaningful public input under the
National Environmental Policy Act.
The proposed new rule would:
Hide from the
public adequate information to evaluate the environmental
consequences of forest plans and disregard the best
available science in favor of commercial interests;
Make it easier for timber, oil, gas, mining, and
motorized recreation corporations to profit from the use
of public forests;
Negatively impact water, wildlife, recreational use, old
growth and roadless areas;
Worsen the assault on wildlife. Adopting this new
proposal effectively removes all enforceable requirements
to analyze and monitor wildlife health; and
Eliminate environmental review and opportunity for public
comment.
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Our
Southern Appalachian National Forests are our legacy - high
mountains and forests, rivers and rural countryside - offering us
clean water, wildlife, scenic beauty, unique plants and animals
enjoyed by locals and tourists, and special places to fish, hunt,
hike, camp with our families and just get away and relax.
Now it is up to us to protect them for existing and future
generations. Again, I strongly oppose the proposed rule change
that would exempt forest management plans, revisions, or
amendments from environmental review and meaningful public input
under the National Environmental Policy Act.
Sincerely,
Your name here
Address
City, state, zip
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