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Posted on 04/03/2004 9:24:19 AM PST by farmfriend
Congressmen Seek to Probe Logging PR Deal
By DON THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer
April 2, 2004, 11:43 PM EST
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Two congressmen want an investigation of whether the U.S. Forest Service illegally hired a public relations firm to promote a plan to cut wildfire danger by increasing logging in Sierra Nevada forests.
Democratic Reps. Nick Rahall of West Virginia, on the House Resources Committee, and Jay Inslee of Washington, on the forests subcommittee, noted the contract echoes a similar pact canceled five years ago involving the same Forest Service officials.
The $90,000 contract also appears to violate a federal law that says "appropriated funds may not be used to pay a publicity expert unless specifically appropriated for that purpose," the congressmen said in a letter Tuesday to Agriculture Department Inspector General Phyllis Fong. The Forest Service is part of the Agriculture Department.
Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
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With log and pulp prices as low as they are, there is no doubt as to why these creeps want to keep Sierra Nevada logs off the market. They don't give a crap if it burns.
This is kinda hard to believe. The USFS hired advertisers? Why not show Smokey with a chainsaw in PSA spots "Only You can sue to stop me." (couldn't resist).
Seriously though, why not do television Public Service Announcements (PSA) on the plan using Smokey to explain why thinning is a good thing?
Related article(from last week)
Congressmen seek probe of Forest Service's $90,000 PR contract
By Don Thompson, ASSOCIATED PRESS
April 2, 2004SACRAMENTO – Two congressmen have asked for an investigation of whether the U.S. Forest Service illegally hired a public relations firm to promote its plan to triple logging in 11.5 million acres of Sierra Nevada national forests.
U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the House Resources Committee, and Rep. Jay Inslee of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, noted the contract echoes a similar pact involving the same senior Forest Service officials that was canceled five years ago.
The most recent contract also appears to violate a federal law that says "appropriated funds may not be used to pay a publicity expert unless specifically appropriated for that purpose," the congressmen said in a letter Tuesday to U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspector General Phyliss Fong. The Associated Press reported the potential violations in the similar contracts a week ago.
"We urge you to investigate the legality of using taxpayer dollars on the Sierra Nevada contract in light of the clear prohibition in the U.S. Code," Rahall and Inslee wrote.
Jack Blackwell, chief of the Forest Service's California region, defended the $90,000 contract with OneWorld Communications Inc. of San Francisco in an AP interview last week. The Forest Service is using the firm's "Forests with a Future" campaign to promote increased Sierra logging as necessary to avoid catastrophic wildfires of the sort experienced in Southern California last fall.
Blackwell said agency lawyers and contracting experts advised him the law bars federal agencies only from "self-aggrandizing" PR campaigns at taxpayer expense, while the Sierra campaign promotes wildfire prevention.
The congressmen noted that Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth and Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey, who oversees forest policy, also defended the Sierra Nevada contract before a House Resources subcommittee, but neither "pointed to an appropriation authorizing the expenditure." Inslee and Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., at the time criticized "using taxpayer money to spin the public."
Fong has not yet responded to the congressmen's request, said a Resources Committee spokesman.
The official objective listed by the Forest Service for the current contract is to "create a favorable public atmosphere" for a Sierra decision that environmental groups contend increases logging and limits wildlife protections under the guise of preventing forest fires.
Blackwell and his deputy were also involved in the canceled $600,000 PR contract five years ago that was intended to persuade reporters covering the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City to do positive stories about the role national forests play in providing recreation and protecting the environment.
Regional Forest Service officials said at the time they were ignorant of the law when they signed that contract.
Yes. The USFS doesn't cut trees because their employees don't want to- $90,000 in advertising won't help.
Too bad the regulated public isn't afforded the same luxury.
LOL! I wonder if there's brown sugar involved?
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