3/14/06

ACTION ALERT

STOP THE WALDEN SALVAGE LOGGING BILL—CALL TODAY!
On Wednesday, March 15, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. EST, the House Resources Committee will mark-up the deceptively titled "Forest Emergency Recovery and Research Act" (H.R. 4200). The bill could move to the House floor soon after.

The bill was introduced by Greg Walden (R-OR) and Brian Baird (D-WA) last November. It would fast-track logging after natural disturbances, cast aside meaningful public input, agency accountability and transparency in federal decision-making.

The bill allows the Forest Service to sidestep the Endangered Species Act and the environmental review and public comment provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act. It throws out protections for clean water, old-growth forests, roadless areas, rivers and streams and wildlife habitat.

The Walden-Baird logging bill would apply to all national forests and would transform natural landscapes into industrial forestry for the logging industry. It defines catastrophes so broadly that virtually any natural disturbance would qualify as a "catastrophe," including fire, snow, rainstorms, drought or insect infestations.

Walden’s bill is based on the flawed assumption that burned forests need human help to recover. But a recent study suggested that forests recover faster if left alone, without the assistance of bulldozers and chainsaws.

Please call the Resource Committee members below and ask them to vote NO on the Walden-Baird logging bill, H.R. 4200, "The Forest Emergency Research and Recovery Act."

TAKE ACTION

Please call these Representatives and urge them to vote against H.R. 4200:

* Dale Kildee (D 5th MI) 202.225.3611
* Ron Kind (D 3rd WI) 202.225.5506
* Jim Costa (D-20th-CA) 202.225.3341
* Solomon Ortiz (D 27th TX) 202.225.7742
* Dan Boren (D 2nd OK) 202.225.2701
* Mark Udall (D 2nd CO) 202.225.2161

The following Representatives have co-sponsored H.R. 4200. Please call them and urge them to vote NO on the bill in the committee mark-up.

* Dennis Cardoza (D 18th CA) 202.225.6131
* Stephanie Herseth (D SD) 202. 225.2801
* Wayne Gilchrest (R 1srt MD) 202.225.5311
* Jim Saxton (R-3rd NJ) 202.225.4765
* Charlie Melancon (D 3rd LA) 202.225.4031

TALKING POINTS:

I am calling to urge Representative ______ to vote NO on the Walden-Baird logging bill, H.R. 4200, in the Resources Committee mark-up. I am very concerned about the bill because:

o By fast-tracking logging in areas recovering from fire and other natural disturbances, the Walden-Baird bill puts clean water, fish and wildlife at risk.

o A forest recovering from a fire or other natural disturbance does not need the help of bulldozers and chainsaws. The Walden-Baird bill would lock in increased logging to help forests "recover," even as more and more scientific research says forests recover faster on their own.

o Forest management decisions should be based on science, not the demands of special interests.

o All projects authorized under the bill would be permanently exempt from the environmental review and public participation provisions of NEPA.

o The bill creates incentives to divert scarce agency resources away projects intended to protect communities before wildfires may occur, and toward destructive logging projects that can delay recovery and increase fire danger.

For a fact sheet on the Walden logging bill, go to:

http://www.americanlands.org/documents/1139600956_Walden%20fact%20sheet%201-
30.pdf