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Heritage Forests Campaign Week Ahead

July 30, 2001

For More Information: Le Evans, NET, 202-887-1342 or 202-487-7465 (cell)

ON THE HILL:

Lieberman, Citing Roadless, Threatens Subpoena, Bush Relents

On Thursday, Governmental Affairs Chairman Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., citing the Bush administration¹s decision on the roadless rule, threatened to issue subpoenas after the White House refused to turn over high-level documents detailing the Bush administration plan to undo the roadless rule and other popular environmental regulations.

But, by Friday, the Bush White House had changed its tune: "The Bush administration stepped back from a showdown with Congress, agreeing to give a Senate committee access to documents regarding environmental policy after Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman threatened to subpoena the information." (Dana Milbank, The Washington Post, July 26, 2001)

ALSO ON THE HILL:

House GOP Gives Up Effort to Undo Clinton Rules

Acknowledging the growing public dissatisfaction with Bush environmental policy and decreasing clout on Capitol Hill, the House GOP surrendered its effort to rollback Clinton-era environmental rules.

Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) said the move demonstrated that the Republicans are increasingly aware of how they may pay a political price for the Bush administration¹s environmental policies. "They're very nervous," Miller said. "There's a constituency out there for the environment, and they're engaged." (Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post, July 30, 2001)

WORDS FROM THE WEST:

Logging May Still Have A Place‹But Not In Roadless Areas

"The people of Idaho want to protect our roadless areas from logging and bulldozers. The timber industry and the state of Idaho are whining about Œvalid process¹ and lack of input from the public, but what they want is bulldozers and chainsaws in roadless forests.

"I worked for the timber industry and believe it has a place in Idaho, but not in our last roadless forests. We don¹t need to cut every last tree and build roads in every last acre. We need to protect our streams and our wildlife, and the roadless policy is designed to do just that." - Jerry Pavia, small business owner, in the The Idaho Statesman, July 23, 2001

1.6 MILLION and COUNTING:

Association to Companies: Lean On Workers For Roadless Comments

The Intermountain Forest Association, an industry-supported roadless opponent, distributed an e-mail last week that suggests companies should "urge" their employees to submit "public" comments in opposition to the roadless rule.

The e-mail was distributed to hundreds of businesses, activists, Congressional staffers, state employees, and Forest Service officials. Among the recipients was Mark Rey, the Bush nominee to oversee the Forest Service.

NOTE: For copies of all stories, please contact Le Evans at 202-887-1342.

The Heritage Forests Campaign is an alliance of conservationists, wildlife advocates, clergy, educators, scientists, and other Americans who are working together to uphold protection of our National Forests. Heritage Forests Campaign's partners include Alaska Rainforest Coalition, Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, National Environmental Trust, National Audubon Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, US PIRG, and The Wilderness Society.