Posted on 05/06/2005 10:26:00 PM PDT by Coleus
The Bush administration, in one of its biggest environmental decisions, moved yesterday to open nearly one-third of all remote national forest lands to road building, logging and other commercial ventures.
The 58.5 million acres involved, mainly in Alaska and in western states, had been put off limits to development by President Bill Clinton eight days before he left office in January 2001.
In Virginia, 394,000 acres are affected in the Jefferson and George Washington national forests.
Under existing local forest management plans, about 34.3 million acres of these pristine woodlands nationally could be opened to road construction. That would be the first step in allowing logging, mining and other industry and wider recreational uses. New management plans have to be written for the other 24.2 million acres before road building can commence.
Governors have 18 months to submit petitions to the U.S. Forest Service to challenge either the old plans to stop development, or to call for new plans to allow it.
Environmentalists said the new rule would let the administration rewrite the forest management plans to lift restrictions against development on most of the forest land.
"Yesterday, nearly 60 million acres of national forests were protected, and today as a result of deliberate action by the administration they are not," said Robert Vandermark, director of the Heritage Forests Campaign, run by a coalition of environment groups. "The Bush administration plan is a 'leave no tree behind' policy that paves the way for increased logging, drilling and mining in some of our last wild areas."
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said in announcing the rule that his agency "is committed to working closely with the nation's governors to meet the needs of our local communities while protecting and restoring the health and natural beauty of our national forests."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
So many trees, so few tree huggers. This will cause difficulties for them.
This one better get it right on the details. God made forests for the enjoyment of urban hikers and vacationers. If the cutting is not done right, it can result in soil erosion. I am not signing on to this one without seeing the beef.
There's enough harvestable timber in the El Dorado NF to make a few million houses without even making a dent in it.
L
YES!
I was following a logging truck one time that had a bumper sticker that had "Earth First" and some smaller lettering below it. I finally got close enough to see the second line: "We'll log the rest of the planets later"
Bump
Maybe we"ll get some healthy forests out of this that won't burn to a cinder if struck by lightening.
BAD DECISION!!
Logging, mining and cattle grazing interests should NOT be permitted to loot national parkland which is the common property of ALL citizens, not just resources to be plundered by the few.
And WHERE will this lumber go??? To CHINA??, JAPAN???
National parks should be restricted to hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, wildlife preservation and use by ALL citizens, not just selected private interests.
FLAME AWAY!!!
I'm not going to bother pointing out where you mis-read, mis-understood, or just plain have no idea what you are talking about.
Well, one issue is whether the logging companies pay full freight to the government for the trees. If they don't, it is a ripoff. I have concerns too, in any event. Folks who rent government land or get government water rarely pay market rates. They are a class of welfare queens in that sense.
Why flame away?
It would be like trying to teach a pig to sing.
No flaming, just the facts, ma'am.
I've lived and worked in open range country for 7 years and in the Tongass National Forest for 35 years. It is the >>Logging, mining and cattle grazing interests<< who keep the public lands in good shape...if...and this is usually the case...there is proper management and supervision by the appropriate agencies. Good grazing and logging practice actually enhances, improves and beautifies the land. The same CAN be true for mining, but unlike the other two mining is purely an extraction of resource. But the end result can be much improved and beautiful, productive countryside through regrading, soil improvement, replanting, landscaping and other enhancements.
Just like any other asset, if you don't at least maintain (and hopefully improve) the public land, it deteriorates.
Wise use, I say.
Your tagline says it all.
And I don't need any lessons in missreading. I can understand a public rip-off when I read about it.
Apparently you can't, or maybe you're a miner, rancher or logger yourself.
Precisely.
Or teaching a flashbunny to think.
The George Washington National Forest hasn't been logged since the 1920's. About time.
And so it goes.
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