Bush decision to log Giant Sequoia National Monument -Alert!

[G_j]

-received this today:
--*--------*-------*-------*--

Dear Senator Feinstein, Senator Boxer, and Congressperson Pelosi,

Per the Sierra Club press release below, please do everything within your
power to prevent this blatant travesty--this monumental crime against the
earth and our heritage!!! It's beyond belief--but with this Administration,
despite the pious rhetoric, truly nothing is sacred--not life, earth,
freedom, democracy, not even god. TOTALLY MORALLY BANKRUPT.

Sincerely,

Mary Bull, Co-Director
Greenwood Earth Alliance
Save the Redwoods - Boycott the Gap Campaign
252 Frederick, San Francisco, CA 94117 http://www.gapsucks.org
415-731-7924 [e-mail]



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 27, 2005
1:50 PM

CONTACT: Sierra Club
Eric Antebi 415-977-5747
Annie Strickler 202-675-2384



Conservation Groups Challenge Plan to Log Giant Sequoia Forest
Groups Point to Neighboring National Park for Better Way to Manage National
Treasure




SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Conservation organizations challenged the Bush
administration's decision to log Giant Sequoia National Monument in federal
court earlier today. The groups also encouraged the administration and the
court to look to neighboring Sequoia National Park for a better way to
manage the rare forest.

The Sierra Club, Sierra Nevada Forest Protection Campaign, Earth Island
Institute, Tule River Conservancy, Sequoia Forest Keeper, and Center for
Biological Diversity jointly filed the complaint in San Francisco Federal
District Court.

"These magnificent giant Sequoia forests are found nowhere else on earth,"
explained Bruce Hamilton, Sierra Club Conservation Director. "It makes no
sense for the Bush administration to sacrifice such a spectacular national
treasure. It also happens to be illegal."

Giant Sequoia National Monument boasts two-thirds of all the Sequoia
redwoods in the world, with most of the remainder found in the adjacent
National Park. The popularity and awe-inspiring beauty of the Sequoia forest
and its wildlife led President Bill Clinton permanently protect the forest
as a National Monument under the Antiquities Act. Earlier, President George
Bush Sr. had proclaimed the Sequoia groves off limits to commercial logging.

Earlier this month, the Bush administration officially reversed those
policies by finalizing plans to allow what amounts to commercial logging in
the Monument, including the prized Giant Sequoia groves. The
administration's plan would allow 7.5 million board feet of timber to be
removed annually from the Monument, enough to fill 1,500 logging trucks each
year. This policy would include logging of healthy trees of any species as
big as 30 inches in diameter or more. Trees that size can be as much as 200
years old.

"This plan opens up huge areas to logging and specifically targets trees big
enough to sell, undermining the whole purpose of the Monument. The Bush
administration is shirking its responsibility to current and future
generations to take care of this ancient and treasured forest," added Carla
Cloer, representing the Tule River Conservancy.

As a model for better management, the Sierra Club and others are asking the
Bush administration to look to nearby Sequoia National Park, where
innovative conservation and fire prevention strategies have reinvigorated
the Sequoia groves and made nearby communities safer. "In stark contrast to
the very successful management techniques used for decades by the National
Park Service in the Sequoia National Park," reads the complaint, "administration] approved a Giant Sequoia National Monument Management
Plan... that would permit extensive logging and cause the degradation of old
forest habitat and irreparable harm to the Monument¹s wildlife, directly
conflicting with the purposes of the Sequoia Monument."

"The plan proposed by the Forest Service reverts back to an outdated
strategy that ignores the clear recommendations of fire scientists on the
Monument Science Advisory Committee, that fire risk reduction is not about
logging large trees," stated Craig Thomas, Director of the Sierra Nevada
Forest Protection Campaign.



-Giant Sequoia National Monument
Management Plan, Winter 2005
The Bush administration's final plan for Giant Sequoia National Monument would open up huge areas to logging and allow the removal of trees up to 30 inches in diameter or more. The following maps show just how much of the Monument will be affected by this policy.

To view maps of the areas within the Monument where logging will be
permitted, go to: http://www.sierraclub.org/wildlands/sequoiaplan

###

[Goldeneye]

1. I feel so gross.

3 months since the election and he's already got exploratory drilling in Alaska and this...I hope DUers are seeing this.

[pinto]

2. Bushco, by the way, as noted, "it also happens to be illegal.".n/t

[katinmn]

3. You know, they propose a half dozen outrageous things

every day, sometimes more.

It's wearing me out.
:hangover:

[McCamy Taylor]

4. What a total douchebag! What kind of a**hole f**ks with

Sequoia trees? Who would want to buy a coffee table made of them? It would be like eating dolphin or wearing a coat made of human skin. The New Republicans really are turning into Nazis.

I dont usually cuss like this, but when you mess with redwoods that is going too far.

:mad:

[Turbineguy]

5. Cut down all those

fucking trees, George, they're old anyway and what a great location for a Hummer dealership!

[Botany]

6. I have been a member of save the redwoods for 20 years

I have seen the redwoods along the coast in southern Oregon and northern California
but I have never seen the giant sequoias ..... but I feel better just knowing they
are there. bush is a madman. Besides the hell hole of Iraq, the debt, the stolen elections, and the decline of America his environmental stewardship is like watching
a 85 year old man playing in the NFL. The giants gone ..... wild run salmon gone ......
All for greed and money that will never pay for what will never come back.

A pretend cowboy, living at a phony ranch, not knowing how to ride a horse, and
cutting brush so as to establish his environmental bona fides what a shit.


:grr:

[StephanieMarie]

7. The Christian Facists think they need to cut down every

tree on the planet to usher in Armageddon and the second coming, so I guess the sequoias may as well be the first to go. The guy is a raving lunatic. HE MUST BE IMPEACHED for crimes against the Constitution and lying to the American people and war crimes and whatever else. The planet cannot survive another four years.

[signmike]

8. "See one tree, you've seen them all." ____R. Raygun

Which one of our rocket scientists was it who claimed trees as dangerous polluters because they produce carbon dioxide?

[Branjor]

10. What an idiot....

They USE carbon dioxide and PRODUCE oxygen.

[G_j]

23. it seems

our present dictator is just as clueless


I remember somebody was distributing fortune cookies with Reagan quotes. * would certainly supply a wealth of idiotic quotes, probably more than Ronnie himself.

[Bitter Betty]

27. Shrub quote:

"We need an energy plan that encourages consumption". Printed (most appropriately) with his shit-eating grin on toilet paper. I bring it out when we have our Republican friends over.

Seriously, messing with Redwoods is not okay. I will be writing my women in Congress (Boxer, Feinstein & Woolsey).

[G_j]

28. brilliant!

what more can I say?

thanks :hi:

[poe]

9. This is a sacred place-a church not made with hands

certainly one of the most breathtaking and humbling creatures to grace this earth-the sequoia. this is disturbing

[Cleita]

11. Noooooooooooo!

This is sacrilege.

[proud patriot]

12. Dear God NOOOOOOOOOOOOO ! not our sequoia's

:grr: :mad:

[pinniped]

13. I hope presidunce asshole doesn't know about the Methuselah tree...

or its whereabouts.

That pig in the wh is fucking disgusting.

After these assholes vacate the wh, I would expect a 'real' president to issue executive orders rescinding all the crap * has done to kill our planet.

Nothing this piece of shit did from 2000-2008 should be left on the books.

[postulater]

14. As bad as the Taliban

He just twisted the knife in my gut. This is abhorrent. Shock and awe all over again.

It reminds me of the Taliban destroying the Buddha statues.
<http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0301-04.htm>

[ConsAreLiars]

16. Exactly right.

As I began scrolling through these messages I was reminded of the Taliban desecration of those statues. (I once had a chance to visit Bamiyan, but did not, so that vile act hit me very personally - I nonetheless opposed that invasion also.)

There are holy places, places where we as humans have created monuments to our best true nature, and places where nature has created a chance for us to understand our best potential as a part of her whole.

These death cults, these destroyers, these soulless monsters feel compelled to destroy everything that reminds us of our place as a part of a greater reality.

[OneBlueSky]

15. are there no limits to their insidiousness. . .

do they want to destroy EVERYTHING? . . . the environment, human life, foreign nations, social programs, the middle class, the dollar, US jobs . . . and on, and on, and on . . . is there no end to this evil? . . .

[drhilarius]

17. This is fucking outrageous!

These bastards talk about "protectin' amurika" and this is how they do it!? By plundering our national treasures!?arrrrrgh!

[underseasurveyor]

18. OHMYFUCKINGGOD! HOW DARE HE!

I can't fucking believe this:grr: Yes I can:cry: but I still can't fucking believe it:mad:

Those trees are SACRED ANCIENT GIANTS :-( Only a soulless flatulent pussbag lying sack of shit assfaced dickhead fuckwad like Drunky McDumbass (and friends) would allow that.
Oh I hate these fucking people, I hate them:mad:

(((((((((((((((((((((((((SCREAM))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

[G_j]

19. destruction of the sacred,

Seems Tolkien had it right, the 'dark side' deliberately blights and destroys the natural beauty of our world.
One seriously begins to wonder about the real motivations of these sick people.

[ashmanonar]

26. tolkien popped into my mind when i read this too.

where is our gandalf, our aragorn, and our frodo to free us from the Dark Lord? where is the ring we need to destroy, i'll do it myself!

may eru give us the strength to fight this battle.

[G_j]

33. "The Trees Roots Run Deep, Master"

..."Cut them all down!!"

[ashmanonar]

35. but when do the trees fight back?

and kick some ass?

[leanin_green]

38. We fight for them!

[ashmanonar]

39. no doubt of that.

but that was more or less facetious. if you hadn't noticed, we were talking in terms of tolkien. ents, and such.

[leanin_green]

43. Yeah, I know, so in light of the fact. . .

that the trees aren't going to fight for themselves, ala, tolkien, we'll have to become the trees ourselves. Better?

[ashmanonar]

44. yea...

i just didn't know if you were being serious or not. er. shoot. i don't know what i'm saying.

suffice it to say that i wasn't sure whether you knew i was being facetious.

[leanin_green]

45. Not a first, I'm kinda slow on the uptake: )

[LWolf]

20. The Sequoia

For anyone who has never stood at the base of a Sequoia, I share my experience:

I sit down as close to the base of the tree as I can, depending on whether I'm on a trail, or just up in the forest somewhere. The forest becomes still. The stillness spreads out, and in, until it abides inside. Tears come, for no reason, and stream down my cheeks. Followed by peace. Time slows down, and for the time I'm there, I just am. I don't have to do anything or think anything, or go anywhere; I just am. When I get up to move on, I'm filled up with the unique strength, and peace, of the Sequoia.

I'm remembering that, in the life of a Sequoia, GWB and any political group is nothing more than a flash on the screen, and gone. Looking at the world from the perspective of the Sequoia allows me to see the bigger picture, and not despair over the present.

Perhaps this is exactly the point; GWB and his cabal cannot begin to approach the grace, majesty, or strength of the Sequoia, or of the earth herself. So they must spend their miserable little lives desperate to destroy what they cannot achieve.

I'm getting ready to move out of California. I'm looking forward to the move; it's a positive thing. When I think of what I leave behind in CA, there are 2 things at the top of the list of what I will miss: Sequoias, and Yosemite. Somehow, I need to make one more visit this summer on my way out of state.

[elehhhhna]

21. "Want some wood?" Nyuk nyuk nyuk.

[G_j]

22. so well said

thank you
In truth these trees are our elders!

[StephanieMarie]

24. kick

[Karenina]

29. .

[StephanieMarie]

25. Maybe he needs some wood for the logging company

he forgot he had... What a total LIAR LIAR LIAR. He doesn't love America. He doesn't love anything.

[sweetheart]

30. Oh geez... what a heinous crime

Perhaps logging of human trees taller than 3 feet be allowed within 1
kilometer of the national mall... the tree's revenge.. :-)

how pathetic... its really criminal to allow any touching of those
ancient and sacred beings.

[Karmadillo]

31. Why aren't the Democrats willing to make the environment

a bigger issue? I know the corporate media is not going to go out of its way to take down the Bush Administration, but it would seem the opposition party could easily instruct its media spokespeople to push the nonstop attack on the environment at every opportunity. It wouldn't be impossible to have a mass mailing campaign to organize the huge number of Dem internet contributors and other interested parties to actively oppose this. Why the relative passivity?

[ck4829]

32. This is unbelievable

[dvaravati]

34. nobody will do anything to stop them

just cry on the internet about it.

[Neecy]

36. a crime against nature...

...and a crime against ALL Americans. I've been to Giant Sequoia National Monument on a number of occasions, and it's breathtakingly beautiful.

Not only will the logging destroy priceless trees, but the equipment and machinery will destroy what is a silent nature sanctuary for everyone. The roads they'll have to build through there for their trucks will be an eyesore for decades.

Can't they keep their greedy, shameless fingers off of ANYTHING? This is just another way to punish California for being blue.

[G_j]

41. might as well post this here (another environmental crime)

ALERT: NEW EPA DEAL LETS FACTORY FARMS POLLUTE AIR WITHOUT RESTRICTION
The day after the inauguration, January 21, the Bush Administration signed an agreement that allows factory farms to freely violate any and all clean air standards for the next two years, and forgives these same companies from paying fines for past air pollution violations. In exchange for the freedom to pollute without any restrictions, the deal "requests" that factory farms agree to monitor their air pollution and provide that data to the government. Bush's "Dirty Air" agreement is outrageous, given that the Clean Air Act already requires factory farms to provide air pollution data, while also requiring facilities to adhere to clean air standards. One of the companies that will benefit the most from this arrangement with the Bush Administration is Tyson Foods, who also happened to be one of the largest donors to the Bush inaugural festivities. Fortunately there is a 30 day public comment period.

Please make your voice heard. Take action here. http://www.organicconsumers.org/epa3.htm

[Karmadillo]

37. Kick

n/t

[Zhade]

40. Kick

kick

[PowerToThePeople]

42. I hate them

Try not too, try to understand how they can be so F&^#ed up. But no, they are pure evil and the world needs to stand up against them. They have done NOTHING positive for this country or the world, only harm.