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URGENT CALLS ARE NEEDED TO HOUSE RESOURCES COMMITTEE:

PLEASE TELL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TO VOTE "NO" ON McINNIS BILL

CALLS NEEDED TODAY TO REPRESENTATIVES:

Calvin M. Dooley (D-CA), 202/225-3341 Staffer - Janet Nuzum

Dennis A. Cardoza (D-CA), 202/225-6131 Staffer - Anne Cannon

Joe Baca (D-CA), 202/225-6161 Staffer - Paul Todd

SUMMARY

On Wednesday April 30, the House Resources Committee will consider the "Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003" sponsored by Forest Subcommittee Chairman Scott McInnis (R-CO). If the bill passes in Committee on Wednesday it is extremely likely that it will quickly head to the House floor and be voted on this session. The McInnis bill has sweeping implications for how National Forests and Bureau of Land Management administered lands will be managed for years to come. This bill does nothing to protect communities from wildfire or promote public land restoration, but rather seeks to undermine environmental laws and the judicial process when it comes to logging on our public lands. The McInnis bill gives logging companies and the biomass industry free reign to destroy our public lands in the name of fire, "forest health," and insect eradication.

The McInnis bill will:

• Cut the Heart out of NEPA (the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires environmental analysis of federal actions). The McInnis bill allows the Forest Service to conduct large-scale, environmentally damaging logging projects without considering any alternatives, including the "no action" alternative, or their relative environmental impacts.
• Remove the Public from the Process. The McInnis bill eliminates the statutory right of citizens to appeal Forest Service logging projects.
• Log the Backcountry rather than Protecting Communities. The McInnis bill promotes logging in threatened and endangered species habitat, allows logging and temporary road building in roadless areas, and gives the Secretary of Agriculture "sole discretion" to log in old growth areas and old growth fire-resistant trees -- all under the guise of protecting communities from fire.
• Interfere with the Independent Judiciary. The McInnis bill seeks to restrict a core principle of our democracy -- the right of Americans to seek redress in the courts for grievances involving the federal government. The bill limits preliminary injunctive relief to 45 days, and forces any U.S court to render a final decision on the merits of a case within 100 days. This means that illegal logging could occur if our backlogged courts failed to issue a decision in time. Finally, the bill seeks an astounding change in American legal standards by requiring courts to give deference to agency findings regarding the balance of harms in deciding whether to enter a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, or a permanent injunction in ANY court challenge where the agency claims the action is necessary to "restore fire-adapted forest or rangelands ecosystems."
• Create New Insect Categorical Exclusion. The McInnis bill creates a new Categorical Exclusion from the National Environmental Policy Act on all Department of Interior and Forest Service lands by authorizing an unlimited number of projects (up to 1,000 acres each) for all lands that the agencies claim are at risk of infestation by certain insects.
• Provide New Logging Subsidies. The McInnis bill would authorize $125 million in subsidies to the biomass industry to log our National Forests.

Please Urge Resource Committee members to Vote NO on the McInnis Bill. (California Resource Committee targets are again listed below.)

Representatives:

Calvin M. Dooley (D-CA), 202/225-3341 Staffer - Janet Nuzum

Dennis A. Cardoza (D-CA), 202/225-6131 Staffer - Anne Cannon

Joe Baca (D-CA), 202/225-6161 Staffer - Paul Todd

For more information and activist factsheets visit the American Lands website at: http://www.americanlands.org/activist_materials_packet.htm

For other California specific questions or comments contact:

Jason Swartz
Policy Analyst
California Wilderness Coalition
(530)-758-0380 x100
jasons@calwild.org