Act Now: Save the Tongass National Forest

[OneBlueSky]

http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?ItemId=15376&afccode=TON010

The Tongass National Forest hugs 500 miles of Alaska's spectacular southeastern coastline. A dramatic landscape of glacial fjords, volcanic mountains, misty rainforests, and giant conifers, the Tongass -- at 17 million acres the largest U.S. national forest -- contains rich salmon spawning grounds and prime grizzly bear habitat. It also boasts the world's densest population of bald eagles.

But logging is now endangering these wildlands. Backed by a White House that is hostile to wilderness protection, the U.S. Forest Service has announced it intends to conduct 50 large-scale timber sales in pristine areas of the Tongass. The "roadless rule," issued in 2001 in response to energetic advocacy by NRDC and other environmental groups, and backed by strong public support, bars all of these timber sales. But the Bush administration has indicated that it plans to undercut or eliminate the roadless rule and has already proposed exempting the Tongass (as well as the Chugach National Forest, also in Alaska) from the rule. The logging and roadbuilding that the administration is pushing for in these forests would destroy wildlife habitat, silt up world-class salmon streams, and degrade forever the pristine character of America's last great temperate rainforests.

The Forest Service is accepting public comments for only 30 days on this latest attempt to allow the chainsaws into the Tongass, so comments must be sent by August 14th.

Call to action

Tell the USDA Forest Service and the Bush administration not to destroy wildlands in Alaska's Tongass and Chugach national forests.
Deadline: August 14, 2003

http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?ItemId=15376&afccode=TON010

[newyawker99]

1. dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=128&topic_id=11815&mesg_id=11815


I am locking this one.


NYer99
DU Moderator