🚀 go-pugleaf

 
 
LOGGING WITHOUT LAWS BULLETIN #127 from WAFC, the Western
Ancient Forest Campaign.  (202)789-2844x291 or email WAFCDC@igc.apc.org
 
Wednesday, October 23, 1996, the 454th Day of Lawless Logging
 
CANON SALE GIVEN TEMPORARY REPRIEVE:  A mock funeral turned into
a celebration yesterday when the Forest Service announced a thirty-day delay in
the auction of the Canon Timber Sale on the Klamath National Forest to allow for
further review.  Activists were conducting a funeral at Forest Service
headquarters in San Francisco to protest two impending California old growth
sales (Canon and Pilot Creek).  Paul Spitler, WAFC's California Organizer led
the gathering saying, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the
loss of our ancient forests."  Fortunately, the delay could lead to the cancellation
or modification of the sale to stop the environmental damage that was likely to
occur.  "The Sacramento Bee" reported that the agency decided to delay the sale
because of numerous complaints from the public and members of California's
congressional delegation.
 
WAR OF THE WOODS - A CUTTING EDGE ISSUE:  Newsday's Oct. 21 issue
reports that the Walupt Cispus sale on the Gifford Pinchot "had stirred new
controversy in a region where fights over timber policy have become as common
as the rain showers that nourish the evergreen forest."  The article offers a good
overview of the logging rider controversy and its potential impact on the Ancient
Forests.  "Historically, the Gifford Pinchot has been a sacrifice forest," said Jim
Jontz, "It's cut up pretty badly.  The damage that's done now compounds the
damage that's been done in the past."  Dave Werntz of Northwest Ecosystem
Alliance states that the old growth sale violates the President's own Northwest
Forest Plan and should be stopped. 
 
AGENCY DIRECTED TO REVIEW AMERICA'S FOREST AT RISK
REPORT:  A Freedom of Information request by Ted Zukoski of the Land and
Water Fund of the Rockies, turned up an interesting memo from Under Secretary
to Chief of the Forest Service Jack Ward Thomas.  The Aug. 30 memo states,
"In the absence of standard public involvement procedures for salvage sales, the
Secretary has asked the Forest Service to respond to public concerns through
continuing dialogue.  The attached document (America's Forests At Risk)
includes a description of salvage sales not affected by the Secretary's directive. 
Please address the concerns raised about the attached emergency sales so that we
can respond to public concerns as they arise."  WAFC's report, "America's
Forests at Risk" documented a total of 266 rider sales of concern.  WAFC has
yet to receive a response from the Administration on our request to cancel or
withdraw these sales.
 
CASCADIA TIMES DOCUMENTS POLLUTER CONTRIBUTIONS:  Gordon
Smith, senatorial candidate of Oregon leads all Northwest congressional
candidates in contributions from polluters according to a new study released Oct.
21 by Cascadia Times.  Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) was a distant second.  The study
examines Federal Elections Commission reports and the EPA Toxic Release
Inventory, as well as congressional voting records.  It makes connections among
the leading polluters in the West (largely timber, mining and oil companies that
appear at the top of the Toxic Releases Inventory), the politicians they support,
and the way those politicians have voted on key environmental issues.  The study
shows that the vast majority of polluter money goes to candidates with the worst
voting records, as determined by the League of Conservation voters ratings.  For
a copy of the report, please contact Cascadia Times at cascdtimes@aol.com or
check your local newsstand.