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BUSH
TO VISIT TUCSON TO
PROMOTE BOGUS "HEALTHY FORESTS
INITIATIVE"
On Monday, August 11 the eyes
of the
Nation will be on Tucson
as President Bush arrives
to
tour the Aspen fire, visit
the devastated community
of Summerhaven and promote
his misleadingly titled "Healthy
Forests Initiative."
Bush's visit to Tucson is the
first
in a series of stops in
political swing states during
the month of
August. During each of these
visits, the President
will attempt to convince
the public that his administration,
one of the most anti-environmental
in the history of
the Nation, is working to
protect our irreplaceable
natural heritage. It is important
that we see through
the smokescreen and false
rhetoric of anti-environmental
proposals such as the "Healthy
Forests Initiative" and "Clear
Skies Initiative," and
hold this administration
accountable for the broad
and systematic attack on
the environment that it has
waged.
Please read and enjoy the following
editorial written by Congressional
Representative
Raúl Grijalva
in anticipation of Bush's
visit to Tucson. We applaud
Representative Grijalva's
commitment to environmental
protections, and wish there
were many more like him
in Congress.
Learn
more about the Center's
Ancient
Forest Program.
Learn more about the Center's
Restoration
Program.
GUEST
OPINION: PRESIDENT'S
PLAN ONLY AIDS LOGGERS
RAÚL M. GRIJALVA
Tucson Citizen
On July 30 I had the opportunity
to visit Mount Lemmon
and Summerhaven with
John McGee, supervisor of
the Coronado National Forest.
I want to commend the Forest Service, Pima County
and all other parties for
their outstanding efforts
to
save the structures on
the mountain. Given the
limited resources that were
available to prevent such
an
event at the outset, the
officials and volunteers
did a truly remarkable job.
What I saw on the mountain
last week solidified
my belief that we
must take action to fully
protect our forest communities
from the inevitable
event
of
fire,
and we must do so now.
In Arizona, we now have 120
communities
nestled in the forest that
are at "high-risk" for
a catastrophic fire event.
Summerhaven was on the
list,
but the village is now
in part destroyed. We now
have 119 potential Summerhavens
out there, and it
is a question
of when, not if, fires
similar to the Aspen fire
will impact these communities.
On my trip with Mr. McGee,
we discussed how to make
communities safer. Mr.
McGee stated, and I agree,
that there is no 100 percent
guaranteed way to protect
forest
communities - not even
if you pave a three-mile-wide
swath around them. However,
there are a number
of proven ways to greatly
enhance the chances that
lives
and
property will survive
a forest fire.
Scientists and fire ecologists
have determined that
thinning of small trees
and removal of brush from
the immediate vicinity
of communities and controlled
burning
in a wider circle around
the thinned areas can
go a very long way in protecting
communities. Residents
can also protect their
homes and those of their
neighbors
by installing metal roofs,
burying propane tanks
and
clearing their property
of brush and small trees.
If this kind of work is done,
is it likely that fire
will burn gently along
the forest floor, making
it far easier for fire fighters
to protect an area.
John McGee showed me where
thinning was done around
the
camps at Organization
Ridge on Mount Lemmon. Firefighters
had a much easier time
controlling the fire that
approached this area because
the thinning slowed
and
lowered the
intensity of the approaching
fire.
After the Bullock fire on Mount
Lemmon last summer,
the Forest Service and
residents requested $1 million
so that they could complete
similar clearing work
around the village and
other structures. However,
the Republican-controlled
Congress and the Bush
administration did not appropriate
the necessary funds for
this work.
George W. Bush will be here
on Monday
to extol the virtues of
his so-called "Healthy Forests Initiative."
But
don't be fooled by his
rhetoric. His initiative would
have done nothing to prevent
the destruction of homes
in Summerhaven or the Aspen
fire itself.
Bush's initiative was designed
by former timber industry
lobbyists within his
administration. It will facilitate
logging of large, old-growth
trees deep in the
forest, under the guise of
forest health. The initiative
will also eliminate the
ability of citizens to be
involved
in planning for fuels
reduction projects in their
communities
or areas that they recreate
in or otherwise enjoy.
Several months ago, Democrats
in Congress proposed
an alternative that would
have focused on community
protection while still
maintaining citizen involvement
in decision-making. But
we lost our fight to win
support from Republicans
on this compromise legislation.
Instead,
a bill very similar to
Bush's initiative passed
the House and is now before
the Senate.
I am adamantly opposed to the
Bush initiative and
its companion legislation.
Instead, I am proposing
the
following five-point
plan to address safety in
forest communities:
- We must provide for immediate
and comprehensive
funding for fire safety
measures to protect communities
before
fires sweep through them.
Our efforts must focus
on the places where people live and work, not on
the forest
at large.
- We must create opportunities
for communities
to work to protect themselves.
We should foster public/private
partnerships and micro
business creation that would
employ community residents
and put people to work
thinning and clearing around homes and structures.
- We must include citizens
in the forest planning
process.
- We must undertake
a comprehensive and independent
study of the Aspen
fire immediately so that
we may determine
which fire safety measures
worked on Mount Lemmon,
which did not, and exactly
how much funding would
have been necessary to fully protect the community.
- We must allow natural
fires that do not threaten
communities to burn.
As a natural and necessary
occurrence, fires
can assist in clearing
out the forest of flammable
materials and making
the forests healthier overall.
Keep in mind that Bush's initiative
is about lining
the pockets of the timber
industry, not about protecting
communities. Instead, let's
focus on community protection
and start getting the job
done before another Summerhaven-like
disaster happens.
Raúl
M. Grijalva is a Democratic
member of the U.S.
House of representatives
representing
Arizona's
Seventh District.
VICTORY
AT ZUNI SALT LAKE!
In an astounding victory for
environmental
protection and preservation
of sacred sites, Phoenix-based
utility
Salt River Project (SRP)
has announced that it is abandoning
its plans to develop the
proposed Fence Lake coal strip
mine in western New Mexico.
SRP announced on August
4th that they will relinquish
permits and coal leases
acquired for the mine, which
would have provided electricity
for SRP’s customers
in the Phoenix metropolitan
area.
The Center has been involved
in the
struggle to save Zuni Salt
Lake and defeat the Fence
Lake Mine since
the mid-1990’s, when
CBD joined with the Pueblo
of Zuni in challenging the
original state permit granted
to operate the mine, objecting
to federal environmental
analysis concluding that
the mine would have no impact
on the Zuni Salt Lake, and
applying public pressure
on SRP to abandon its plans.
In 2001, CBD again joined
with the Pueblo of Zuni in
challenging the state’s
renewal of SRP’s mining
permit.
Learn more about this victory,
and the Center’s
Mining
Program.
CENTER
OPPOSITION STOPS MEGA-DEVELOPMENT
NEAR JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL
PARK
Saying resistance from environmentalists
doomed the Joshua Hills
project, Coachella Valley
developer Dick
Oliphant recently cancelled
plans for a 7,000 home,
12 golf-course mega-development
on 9,000 acres next
to Joshua Tree National Park.
This Sonoran desert area
of southern California is
home to several endangered
species, including the desert
tortoise, Coachella Valley
fringe-toed lizard, Coachella
Valley milkvetch, flat-tailed
horned lizard and desert
pupfish. The Center strongly
opposed this project, sparking
national media and citizen
scrutiny during Oliphant’s
first press conference
in February 2002 by asking
tough questions. The golf
courses alone would have
used 6 million gallons of
water daily.
This victory is a part of the
Center’s
campaign to protect the California
Desert Conservation Area,
fight unneeded urban
sprawl.
CENTER
SUIT LEADS TO 53,000 ACRE CRITICAL
HABITAT PROPOSAL FOR ALGODONES
DUNES
On August 5 the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife
Service proposed 52,780
acres – nearly one third – of the
Algodones (Imperial) Dunes
be designated critical habitat
for the Peirson’s milkvetch
(Astragulus magdalenae
var. peirsonii). FWS is taking
public comment on the
proposal until Oct. 6.
The proposal is in response
to a legal victory by
the Center and California
Native Plant Society. Species
with designated critical
habitat are less likely to
be declining, and twice as
likely to be recovering
than those without.
The Bush administration is set
to finalize
a BLM plan (RAMP) later
this summer that would open
50,000 acres
of currently protected dunes
habitat. Parts of that
plan are already being challenged
in court by the Center.
FWS stated in the proposed
rule, “Species specific
management needs and measures
for Astragulus magdalenae
var. peirsonii are not addressed
in the RAMP.”
Learn more about the Algodones
Dunes and the Peirson’s
milkvetch.
CENTER
CREATES ACTION TO
MOVE USDA KILLER BEE APIARY
OFF IRONWOOD NATIONAL MONUMENT
Working
with a USDA whistle-blowing
scientist, the Center
successfully exposed a
dangerous invasive species
threat, and helped BLM push
USDA to remove a killer
bee apiary from the Ironwood
Forest National Monument
west of Tucson. Non-native
Africanized “killer” bees
often attack people and displace
native bees, butterflies,
hummingbirds, doves and other
important native pollinators,
disrupting ecosystem function.
USDA had thirteen colonies
at the apiary, with each
colony having 10,000 to 40,000 “killer”
bees.
Learn more
about the Center’s program
to protect
deserts.
Click
now and become a member of
the Center for Biological
Diversity, and ensure a future
for wildlife and habitat.
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