Monday, July 12, 2004
Bush Administration Proposes Lifting Ban on Logging in Roadless Areas
Just hours ago the Bush administration put forth a new proposal that, if approved, will destroy the last of the U.S. wilderness areas.
True to form in naming their proposals the Bush administration has named this new proposal to sound like exactly the opposite of what it is intended to do. The new proposal is called "Cooperative Conservation of Roadless Areas".
If you are not familiar with this naming tactic, let me bring you up to speed... the proposed "Clear Skies Initiative" is an initiative that will increase allowed levels of toxic mercury produced by coal burning power plants by 8 to 10 times the levels allowed by the existing Clean Air Act. The "Healthy Forests Initiative" is a proposal to clear-cut vast areas of our national forests and national parks. Well, this "Cooperative Conservation of Roadless Areas" is following suit exactly.
The new proposal would remove the ban on logging in roadless areas, which means that logging companies would be allowed to build roads in these roadless areas.
What are "roadless areas"? They are wilderness areas set aside for wildlife refuges and to preserve certain areas of pristine forests. Here is a map of all of the Class 1 wilderness areas in the United states:
As you can see there is not much wilderness left. This new proposal will mean there will be none left at all.
True to form in naming their proposals the Bush administration has named this new proposal to sound like exactly the opposite of what it is intended to do. The new proposal is called "Cooperative Conservation of Roadless Areas".
If you are not familiar with this naming tactic, let me bring you up to speed... the proposed "Clear Skies Initiative" is an initiative that will increase allowed levels of toxic mercury produced by coal burning power plants by 8 to 10 times the levels allowed by the existing Clean Air Act. The "Healthy Forests Initiative" is a proposal to clear-cut vast areas of our national forests and national parks. Well, this "Cooperative Conservation of Roadless Areas" is following suit exactly.
The new proposal would remove the ban on logging in roadless areas, which means that logging companies would be allowed to build roads in these roadless areas.
What are "roadless areas"? They are wilderness areas set aside for wildlife refuges and to preserve certain areas of pristine forests. Here is a map of all of the Class 1 wilderness areas in the United states:
As you can see there is not much wilderness left. This new proposal will mean there will be none left at all.
All articles in this archive are used under "fair use" as they are important to the national discussion of whether or not the people of this country are being deceived by their government. These articles are used as evidence in that discussion.
