Club Activists Pack Hearings, Demand Stronger
Protections by Jenny Coyle
"Roadless. Mindless. Clueless."
That was the message on buttons worn by friends of the timber
industry at a North Carolina hearing on the Clinton administration's
proposed wild forest protection plan in June.
But the buttons were overpowered by the sea of green Sierra Club
hats that bore the message "Protect Our Wild Forests" and by the
overwhelming demand for conservation from most of the people in the
room.
"The Forest Service could not have helped but see the public
outcry for protection of our wild forests," said Club organizer
Peter Baker from Asheville, N.C. Among those who spoke was forest
activist Dean Whitworth, who dressed as Teddy Roosevelt. The local
newspaper ran his photo on the front page.
The hearing in Asheville was one of about 300 the U.S. Forest
Service is holding around the country this summer to explain the
proposal and take official comments. In October 1999, President
Clinton ordered the agency to develop a plan to protect as many as
60 million acres of national forest lands that are roadless.
The draft plan, released in May, calls for a ban on roadbuilding
in roadless areas of 5,000 acres or more. But it does not call for
an outright ban on logging in these areas - helicopters can do the
job without roads.
"It also fails to ban other destructive uses in these last wild
areas, like off-road vehicle use, mining and oil and gas drilling,"
said Tanya Tolchin, associate representative for the Wildlands
Campaign. "To top it off, the plan does not protect the Tongass
National Forest in Alaska."
But the plan can be fixed. "The president had a bold vision, and
while the Forest Service proposal falls short in its
recommendations, it does include options that call for stronger
protections," said Tolchin. "That's why it's so important for people
to weigh in with their written comments and speak up at Forest
Service hearings on the plan. We want to protect all roadless areas
of 1,000 acres or more from all destructive activities."
Across the country, Sierra Club organizers are working to get the
public to do just that.
Even thousands of miles from southeast Alaska, the Club is making
a big deal about the Tongass. Joe Murphy, conservation organizer in
Florida, said that at an informational meeting in Gainesville,
"Forest Service staffers expressed surprise that so many people
asked about the Tongass."
If crowds of supporters were the only factor, the Club would have
it in the bag. At a meeting in Olympia, Wash., the moderator asked
220 people in the room how many of them favored alternative 4, the
no-logging alternative. "About 95 percent of them raised their
hands," said Karen Fant, Northwest field organizer.
Jill Walker, conservation organizer for the North Star
(Minnesota) Chapter, is working on upping the numbers in her state.
"I'm in manic mode right now, an organizing whirlwind," she said.
"We've done mailings, held a meeting to explain the plan, recruited
more volunteers and will arrange for a bus to get people to the
hearings. We'll be there with our green hats, stickers and
postcards."
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