HFC On The Road!
July 14 San Francisco, California
Time: 10:30 AM
Location:
San Francisco City Hall
Civic Center Plaza on Polk Street
Press contacts:
Shoren Brown
Heritage Forests Campaign
202-257-8176
[email protected]
Jennifer Coate
Heritage Forests Campaign
202-887-8855
[email protected]
General contact:
Seth Horstmeyer
Heritage Forests Campaign
202-887-8826
[email protected]
Press Information:
News Release
For Immediate Release: July 10, 2003
Contact:
Jennifer Coate, 202-887-8855
Shoren Brown, 202.857.8176 (c)
California Groups Joins Heritage Forests Campaign's National "Whistle Stop" Tour
Local Citizens and Forest Advocates STUMP for America's Forests
SAN FRANCISCO A coalition of local groups today hosted the Heritage Forests Campaign's national "Whistle Stop Tour" to spread the word about the Bush administration's efforts to gut the widely popular Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The two-prong tour starting in San Francisco and Portland, Oregon will criss-cross the nation in decaled vans portraying America's national forests before and after excessive development and will have a 6 by 8 foot inflatable tree stump. The tour will converge in Washington D.C.
"Our 24-city whistle stop tour is crossing the nation to stump for protection of our last wild forests," said Shoren Brown, forest advocate for the Heritage Forests Campaign. Brown will be leading the Whistle Stop Tour along with three others. "We want these events to build momentum with local citizens for stopping the Bush administration's assault on our national forests. The time is now to save our national forests; because once they are gone, they are gone forever."
The roadless rule protects 58.5. million acres of America's last wild forests in 39 states from most commercial logging and road-building, including more than 4.4 million acres in California. In June 2003, the administration proposed exempting the Tongass and Chugach National Forests in Alaska the world's largest coastal temperate rainforest from the rule, as well as allowing governors to opt out of the rule.
"The Bush Administration is moving forward with 50 timber projects in Tongass roadless areas that are protected by the original roadless rule," said David Edeli from the Alaska Coalition of California. "If the timber industry is allowed to log America's great rainforest what's to stop them from logging California's wild forests?"
The roadless rule was adopted in January 2001 following years of scientific study, hundreds of public hearings across the country, and more than 1.6 million comments. To date, the Forest Service has received 2.2 million comments in support of the roadless rule, including participation from 187,000 Californians.
"Public participation is at the heart of roadless protection," said Brown. "Local citizens helped craft the rule, commented on the rule, and now have a chance to save the rule."
From high-altitude aspen wilderness to low-lying grasslands, roadless areas encompass a cross section of pristine forest land, and are the last remaining strongholds for grizzly bears, wolves, elk, salmon, and trout. Every year millions of Americans hike, fish and hunt in our national forests and live off the clean drinking water from the forest headwaters and streams.
###
main map " next city -->>
|
