President Bush Secretly Axes Old-Growth Forest

Tampa Tribune ^ | January 24, 2004 | staff

[Cincinatus' Wife]

President George W. Bush axed any hope that his administration was becoming more conservation- minded with another sly dismantling of a wilderness protection area.

Christmas week, the administration quietly moved to deny Alaska's magnificent Tongass National Forest protection from timber industry road-building. This was typical. The administration has announced other environmental offenses during holidays or over weekends.

Bush's decision will allow widespread destruction in the nation's largest old-growth forest, which contains trees dating back to the Middle Ages.

The administration claims the decision will affect only 300,000 acres. That's not true. The industrial facilities needed for the road construction - log dumps, transfer stations and such - will affect close to 3 million acres.

There is no economic justification for the decision. Tongass logging is heavily subsidized by taxpayers. The U.S. Forest Service spent more than $36 million in 2002 supporting Tongass logging, including road-building. The timber industry, in turn, paid the government only $1.2 million, leaving taxpayers on the hook for $35 million.

The Bush plan will ruin a wonderful resource and threaten the commercial and recreational fishing and hunting sustained by the healthy watersheds. Hunting and fishing groups that supported Bush are staunchly opposed to the Tongass sellout.

Carl Rosier, a conservative Republican and former Alaska game and fish commissioner, told the Christian Science Monitor, ``You've got a bunch of timber beasts [former timber-industry lobbyists now working in the administration] setting environmental policy in Alaska and that's wrong.''

It is discouraging that an administration that has done so many things right is so consistently wrong when it comes to valuing America's natural heritage.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

President Bush Signs Healthy Forests Restoration Act into Law

On December 3, 2003, President Bush signed into law the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to reduce the threat of destructive wildfires while upholding environmental standards and encouraging early public input during review and planning processes. The legislation is based on sound science and helps further the President.s Healthy Forests Initiative pledge to care for America.s forests and rangelands, reduce the risk of catastrophic fire to communities, help save the lives of firefighters and citizens, and protect threatened and endangered species.

The Healthy Forests Restoration Act:

Strengthens public participation in developing high priority forest health projects;

Reduces the complexity of environmental analysis allowing federal land agencies to use the best science available to actively manage land under their protection;

Provides a more effective appeals process encouraging early public participation in project planning; and

Issues clear guidance for court action against forest health projects.

The Administration and a bipartisan majority in Congress supported the legislation and are joined by a variety of environmental conservation groups.

The Need for Common-Sense Forest Legislation

Catastrophic fires, particularly those experienced in California, Arizona, Colorado, Montana and Oregon over the past two years, burn hotter and faster than most ordinary fires.

Visibility and air quality are reduced, threatening even the health of many who do not live near the fires.

The habitat for endangered species and other wildlife is destroyed.

Federal forests and rangelands also face threats from the spread of invasive species and insect attacks.

In the past two years alone, 147,049 fires burned nearly 11 million acres

2002: 88,458 fires burned roughly 7 million acres and caused the deaths of 23 firefighters;

2003 (thus far): 59,149 fires have burned 3.8 million acres and caused the deaths of 28 firefighters.

Nearly 6,800 structures have been destroyed in 2003 (approximately 4,800 in California).

The California fires alone cost $250 million to contain and 22 civilians have died as a result.

The Sierra Club defends Sen. Daschel's rider amendment allowing logging in South Dakota

[KeyWest]

Nice counter to the dribble in the article. The Trubune would rather see it burnt down.

[WaterDragon]

It's just true that enviro-wackos and their media propagandists have NO difficulty playing fast and loose with facts. They are NOT a reliable source of information about the environment.

In any case, none of them give a fig for the environment, and at times they admit it. Their goal is control of the land, and the death of private property ownership.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

Just curious - this is from the Tampa Tribune. What do the folks in Alaska think of this? Alaska for the Alaskans!

[raybbr]

The administration claims the decision will affect only 300,000 acres. That's not true. The industrial facilities needed for the road construction - log dumps, transfer stations and such - will affect close to 3 million acres.

A bold faced lie! (had to do that)

[taildragger]

IF I am not mistaken These are the same folks that ran a huge story about the leasing of 767's vs. buying for the military for air to air re-fueling AND NOT ONCE MENTIONED LINDA DASCHLE BEING BOEINGS LOBBYIST.

Let us move on here....

[11B3]

These are the same @ssholes that want to keep us from drilling the "pristine" ANWR - you know, that place that looks strangely like a test range for nuclear weapons.

Progress is the enemy of these people - anything that benefits mankind they will be against. Since they want humans to vacate all of the planet, leaving it to the animals, why don't they set the example and euthanize themselves?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Tongass National Forest***Alaska has been "super-sizing" for a lot longer than McDonald's restaurants have. Everything—or so it seems—in the 49th state is bigger than in the Lower 48, national forests included. The biggest of the big is Tongass National Forest, which encompasses roughly 17 million acres and extends 500 miles northward along the Pacific coastline from the Alaska-Canada border. As a matter of scale, consider that the largest national forest outside of Alaska (Nevada's Toiyabe) weighs in at 4 million acres.

The Tongass' terrain varies from coastal rain forests to volcanic uplands, from glacial fjords to tundra meadows. Wide stream valleys carved by glaciers slice through dense forests, and the forest's tall snow-capped mountain ranges count some of the highest peaks in North America.

Often called "the forest of islands," the Tongass is in many locations only accessible by air or boat, via a route known as the Inside Passage. The Tongass is also characterized by its lush rainforest of gigantic western hemlock and Sitka spruce. A wet, maritime climate ensures that most areas of the Tongass are doused with anywhere from 8 to 13 or more feet of rainfall a year. Prime growing conditions for the world's largest temperate rainforest means that visitors to the forest should invest in good raingear before arriving. ***

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Fishing opportunities in both salt water and fresh water are beyond excellent in the Tongass National Forest. All that rain and the rugged topography means that the forest is criss-crossed by innumerable streams and pocketed by innumerable lakes. Among the fish you might catch here are steelhead, five species of salmon, grayling, cutthroat trout, halibut, red snapper, Dolly Varden, rainbow trout, arctic grayling, and eulachon (also known as hooligan).

Prince of Wales Island is a superb fishing destination. Hiring a float plane to a remote, isolated mountain lake is a classic experience, a once in a lifetime treat at the very least. Many of the forest service cabins have good fishing just a few steps away; many toss in a rowboat and/or a mooring buoy to boot.

The Naha River National Recreation Trail on Revillagigedo Island near Ketchikan is another can't beat fishing destination -- 5.4 miles of stream fishing in a gorgeous river valley.

Then of course there's that long, intricate coastline. Two words -- Alaskan crab. You'll definitely want to set traps for some of that. There's also lots of shrimping. You can fish for sea-run species from tidal flats, as well as bottom fish for flounder.

Hunting is popular in the Tongass. In much of the state, habitat conditions are suitable for many game species, including deer, moose, brown and black bear, and mountain goats. Sport and subsistence hunting is allowed in accordance with state and federal regulations.

Hunting and Fishing Licenses, as well as information on current regulations, can be obtained from:

Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Public Communications Office
P. O. Box 3-2000
Juneau, Alaska 99802-2000
(907) 464-4112

[Lazamataz]

Bush's decision will allow widespread destruction in the nation's largest old-growth forest, which contains trees dating back to the Middle Ages.

Occasionally, President Bush does something I like.

Now if he would just allow us to pepper spray Spotted Owls...

[mylife]

Allowing access roads and fire breaks is hardly tantamount to destruction.

Idiot dems dont understand that these maeasures are to protect the forest

I hate lib whiny basserds

[yoswif]

According to a report published by the National Academy of Sciences, soot from burning wood is a prime cause of global warming. Who on the planet burns more wood every year than the U.S. Forest Service? What would our forests look like if the U.S. Forest Service were required to develope a forest plan that limited soot production from federal forest land?

[17th Miss Regt]

Good counter. But here is a more succinct analysis of the article:

We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. ...

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Idiot dems dont understand that these maeasures are to protect the forest

Mostly these green groups want to squeeze money out of logging and industy to support their activism. They sell their bs to morons who get out and man protests lines. It's a shakedown.

And then there is the media: Society of Environmental Journalists

[Cincinatus' Wife]

According to a report published by the National Academy of Sciences, soot from burning wood is a prime cause of global warming. Who on the planet burns more wood every year than the U.S. Forest Service?

Slash burning can hardly be compared to multiple, major forest fires.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. We hate Bush. ...

Yes. They want their power back.

[mewzilla]

You notice the paper doesn't say where they came up with the 3 million figure.

[17th Miss Regt]

It does not have to explain that figure. Read in between the lines. They got the figure from between their left and right cheeks!

[AlbertWang]

3 Million Acres?!!! That's some big road! My mental math, at 640 ac per sq mile, works out to like 4500 square miles, if a road is 52 feet wide that is about 4.5 million miles of road.

I knew Alaska was big, but 4.5 million miles of road (remember, I did the math in my head w/o a calculator) is a lot of road in 1 national Forrest.

[Ga Rob]

"There is no economic justification for the decision."

I thought the Demo-Leftist were screaming for the Govt to provide jobs...here's quite a few I would think!! Same old dribble!!