🚀 go-pugleaf

This was received by EcoNet 15 July 1995:

begin forwarded text:

Here is a press release from the National Parks and Conservation Association.
I downloaded the press release from the U.S. Newswire BBS in
Maryland at (410) 363-0834.
I do not work for or belong to the association.

 Mojave is Victim of Rep. Jerry Lewis Vendetta Says National
Parks and Conservation Association

 Contact: Print media -- Kathy Westra, 202-223-6722, ext. 121,
          Broadcast media -- Alice Rita, 202-223-6722, ext. 122,
          California -- Brian Huse, 510-839-9922, all of the
          National Parks and Conservation Association

   WASHINGTON, July 14  -- Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.)
succeeded again last night in advancing his vendetta
against the newly-created Mojave National Preserve in the
California desert, according to the National Parks and Conservation
Association.
   Lewis convinced his House colleagues to remove all but $1 of
National Park Service (NPS) funding for management of the area.  A
longtime foe of the park, which was created in 1994 by a strong
bipartisan majority of Congress, Lewis effectively reversed the
Mojave's designation as a national preserve by giving $1 to NPS and
$599,999 to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to continue its
"multiple-use" management of the desert park.  "This action is
tantamount to closing the Mojave," said Paul C. Pritchard,
president of the National Parks and Conservation Association
(NPCA).  "It is truly a shame that Rep. Lewis is seeking to starve
the Mojave -- a park in his own district -- from the financial
resources it needs."
   Pritchard praised the efforts of Rep. Vic Fazio (D-Calif.) who
last night attempted unsuccessfully to convince his colleagues to
restore funding for Park Service management of the Mojave.  Fazio's
amendment was defeated by a vote of 227 to 174.  "Rep. Fazio
understands the importance of moving ahead with Park Service
management of the Mojave, not only for the protection of the
resources but also for the comfort and safety of visitors to the
desert preserve," Pritchard said.
   The Mojave's resources include the endangered desert tortoise
and more than 300 other animal species, the world's largest Joshua
tree forest, numerous archeological sites and spectacular mountain
ranges.  The mining, grazing, off-road vehicle use and other
"multiple-use" activities favored by Lewis and BLM threaten the
fragile ecosystem.
   The National Parks and Conservation Association is America's
only private nonprofit citizen organization dedicated solely to
protecting, preserving and enhancing the U.S. National Park System.
An association of "Citizens Protecting America's Parks," NPCA was
founded in 1919 and has more than 450,000 members.
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