Greenpeace Blasts Decision to Exclude Tongass from Roadless Rule

muppetfreak12

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December 23, 2003

Greenpeace Blasts Decision to Exclude Tongass from Roadless Rule

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration announced today that it would exclude the Tongass National Forest from the landmark Roadless Area Conservation Rule, despite overwhelming public support for keeping the forest intact. In keeping with the administration's practice of "stealth" policy moves, the change was made with little fanfare in the midst of the Christmas holidays to avoid public scrutiny.

"It's ironic that, at a time when trees are celebrated as a symbol of the holidays, President Bush gives the crown jewel of the national forest system to timber barons as a Christmas gift," said John Passacantando, Executive Director of Greenpeace. "President Bush had pledged to uphold the Roadless Rule. Now he has taken the definitive step to gut it by excluding our largest national forest. The Tongass is as important to the world as the Amazon rainforest, and President Bush wants to open it up to large-scale industrial logging. This is another example of this administration's complete disregard for the wishes of the American people and America's environment."

The Roadless Rule was enacted by President Clinton in 2001 after three years of study and more than 600 public meetings across the nation. Americans submitted a record number of public comments - more than any other administrative action - with more than two million in favor of upholding the rule. Anticipating Bush's moves to weaken the Rule and exclude the Tongass, Greenpeace sent its largest ship, the Esperanza, to Southeast Alaska earlier this year to investigate and document pristine areas that face clearcutting.

President Bush is also planning to allow western governors to exclude national forests in their states from the Rule, which has the potential for opening up 85 percent of land that should be protected from road building and logging. The exclusion of the Tongass from the Rule comes on the heels of the passage of the so-called "Healthy Forests Initiative," a Bush-endorsed measure designed to further open public lands to industrial logging. Bush has also gutted the Northwest Forest Plan and the Sierra Nevada Framework, forest management plans that place conservation before commercial exploitation.

Furthermore, the administration is undermining Americans' right to oversight of public lands and their right to peaceful protest. In a move unprecedented in U.S. history, John Ashcroft's Justice Department has indicted an entire organization - Greenpeace - for the peaceful protest activities of its members. Greenpeace is fighting the charges as a case of selective prosecution and an attempt by the Bush administration to stifle non-violent dissent.

"These lands belong to the American people, not to the Bush administration's buddies in the timber industry," said Passacantando. "Americans will not sit idly by while our natural heritage is sold off for short-term profits and our rights are trampled."
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Don'tLiveonMoon

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I wish I hadn't read that. :frown: To quote Meriadoc Brandybuck, "They won't stop until they've destroyed all that is green and good in this world..." ***sigh*** I'm not going to Bush-bash, I think he's a good guy, but I think his stance on the environment is most lamentable. Where's a Lorax when you need one?
Erin
 

Buck-Beaver

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I feel for my friends south of the border. Kerry, Dean et al don't stand much of chance this fall, but just think - only four more years of this goofball in office.

Then it'll be Cheney! :eek: :eek:
 

Beebers

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Do you have any information about ways in which we can fight this, make noise, contact higher-ups, and do something? I'd like to make some noise. Thanks for posting this development, and you're right, it went right under the radar.

:cry: :concern: :cry: :concern: :cry:
 

Beebers

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Buck-Beaver said:
I feel for my friends south of the border. Kerry, Dean et al don't stand much of chance this fall, but just think - only four more years of this goofball in office.

Then it'll be Cheney! :eek: :eek:
Cheney won't live that long. He's got a bad ticker. Besides, nobody'd vote for him anyway, including most Republicans.
 

Buck-Beaver

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You're right, by then Paul Wolfowitz will probably be President behind and in front of the scenes!
 

Beebers

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I'm a registered Independent, neither Republican nor Democrat, preferring to take issues and people as they come day by day and be as clear and level-headed as possible re: politics, and I'm not inclined to get into any political brouhahahas here. That said, we tend to turn parties out pretty regularly, we cycle through them round and round, so the Repubs won't stay in forever, as the Dems don't. So, Wolfowitz won't be there forever either. We recognize that both parties are flawed and neither has a full range of strengths, Repubs tending to be better at foreign policy and (normally) less government, the Dems much better with domestic and social issues, etc. Changing administrations during wartime is dicey so you'll see the Dems or another party come in in '08. Most Americans would like to see the increased viability of other parties and choices, and we're (too slowly) inching there. Anyway. No administration or party stays forever, it's pretty fluid. I'm just musing, don't everybody start fighting now after this post. I'm pursuing the Tongass thing (posted above) on my own, when I find an EFFECTIVE venue where one can write/object/protest I'll post it on this thread.

:cool:
 

Don'tLiveonMoon

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Yes, please do! I'm registered Republican myself just so I can vote in the primaries, but I really consider myself Independent. Environmental issues definitely leave me with Democratic leanings. I'm a tree-hugger through and through...
Erin
 

Beebers

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I know what you mean, jelly bean, it's a big world and party-lining just can't cover it. I'll post Tongass stuff when I have useful stuff to post, asap. Working on it.
 

Phantom

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Here we go again. :attitude:

Why must everything become a political discussion? I come to MC to get away from this type of wrangling. I see this as a place where people put aside their differences because of one common identity; being a Muppet fan. We can laugh and joke and throw creamed corn at each other, but when we pick up political identities in threads such as this, the unity goes right out the window. Even when religion becomes part of thread, everyone is respectful, but not in political discussions. It makes me want to leave MC.
 
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