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April 22, 1999
'Smart growth' is just snob zoning dressed up in an environmental skirt. -- Peter Cleary, communications manager of Americans for Tax Reform in a 4/22/99 Washington Times editorial
Contents
1. Anti-Sprawl Initiatives Need Your Support TAKE ACTION: Contact Your Members of Congress
2. Money Available: Apply by June 1 for Wildlife-Related Grants
3. Earth Day News From Pennsylvania
1. Initiatives Would Curb Sprawl, Protect Open Space
In a Washington Times editorial, Peter Cleary accused Vice President Gore of pushing smart growth plans in order to increase the number of Democratic voters.. Gore's attempts to control rampant suburban expansion, said Cleary, is a result of the "party's inability to successfully woo suburban and rural voters." He claimed that, because Democrats don't do well in the polls in suburban and rural areas, Gore is trying to keep people from moving there. Where, doubtlessly, the urban Democrats get magically transformed into suburban Republicans.
But sprawl -- and its effects on clean water, clean air and wildlife habitat -- affects Democrats and Republicans alike, and the administration's plans to combat it deserve strong accolades, not absurd accusations.
The Lands Legacy Initiative and the Livable Communities Initiative, announced by the Clinton administration earlier this year, would increase the protection of irreplaceable wild places as well as farmland and urban parks. And they would help slow urban sprawl.
The Club's Kathryn Hohmann put it this way "Our vision includes transit-linked villages, open space, transportation choices and nice neighborhoods that don't come at the expense of everything environmentalists hold dear."
The two initiatives include new tools like the Better America Bonds, which would allow the federal government to partner with local communities to finance environmental protection and reduce sprawl. These bonds would allow local governments and non-profit organizations to buy land at today's prices and forgo interest payments for 15 years. This means that communities can act now to preserve the places they hold dear, whether it's a fishing spot along a stream or a wildlife haven in a forest.
The Better America Bonds program would provide $700 million in new tax credits, and, over five years, nearly $10 million in bonding authority for communities to shape own their futures in a way that's environmentally positive.
TAKE ACTION
Your senators and representative need to know that you think these two initiatives are a good idea. Call them today, and tell them to support the Clinton administration's Liveable Communities and Land Legacy programs initiatives. The Capitol switchboard number is (202) 224-3121.
TAKE ACTION
2. Grants Available for Wildlife-Related Projects
The Sierra Club Foundation annually offers funding for small wildlife projects. The three grant programs administered by the Foundation specifically provide support of charitable, wildlife-related projects. To be considered for a grant, please submit a detailed proposal describing the overall goal of the project, specific activities planned to meet that goal, a budget, and a time frame for its completion. Proposals should not be more than five pages in length.
Proposals should be directed to: Wildlife Grants, The Sierra Club Foundation, 85 Second Street, Suite 750, San Francisco, CA 94105. For further information, please call (800) 216-2110. Deadline for submission: June 1, 1999
3. Nancy Rauch Reports from Pennsylvania:
The Earth Day Forum, "America and the Environment in the 21st Century" sponsored by Sierra Club (Southeastern Pennsylvania Group) and Drexel University was a huge success! Success can be directly attributed to the terrific speakers and the wonderful performance to our President, Chuck McGrady, as panel moderator.
Drexel University seemed very pleased and possibly willing to host a similar event again next year. This was a big win for the Sierra Club. It was the first Earth Day forum ever held at Drexel University and the first time Sierra Club and Drexel University have collaborated.
John Muir, born 161 years ago today.
Contents
Protect Our Wild Heritage - Stop Logging Our National Forests
TAKE ACTION: Write a letter to your Representative on Logging Bill
Report from the field: Earthfest in Las Vegas
Sierra Club Celebrates Court Victory Protecing Coastal Wetlands
PROTECT OUR WILD HERITAGE - STOP LOGGING OUR NATIONAL FORESTS
On April 13, 1999, U.S. Representatives Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) and Jim Leach (R-IA) introduced the National Forest Protection and Restoration Act, which would eliminate the commercial logging program on federal public lands, promote restoration, and help communities that receive logging revenue develop a more diverse and stable economy.
This visionary forest protection bill was introduced with 48 original co-sponsors (see the list below) including Reps. McKinney and Leach.
Please take a minute to wish your Member of Congress a happy Earth Day by thanking them if they have supported the bill or urge your Member of Congress to cosponsor, if they haven't yet.
BACKGROUND
America's first National Forests were established over one hundred years ago, and today we have 155 of them, stretching across 191 million acres -- an area the size of California, Oregon and Washington. But sadly, almost all of our old growth forests are now gone and industrial logging has turned our publicly owned National Forests into a patchwork of clearcuts and logging roads. Commercial logging has taken a harsh toll on the land, draining nutrients from the soil, washing topsoil into streams, destroying wildlife habitat and intensifying the severity of forest fires.
Healthy forests purify drinking water, stabilize hillsides, and protect us from floods. Hillsides with clearcuts or logging roads lose their ability to absorb heavy rains. Several Forest Service studies in the Northwest found that over 70% of mudslides and landslides in some areas were linked with logging roads.
Americans love to hike, camp, fish, hunt and canoe in our National Forests. And it's no wonder: with 4,400 campgrounds, 121,000 miles of trails and 96 Wild and Scenic Rivers, our National Forests are truly America's favorite playground. The Forest Service predicts that in the year 2000, recreation, hunting and fishing in National Forests will contribute 38 times more income to the nation's economy than logging, and will create 31 times more jobs.
National Forests are our link with America's wild heritage. Although only 4 percent of America's old growth forests are still standing, 75 percent of them are within National Forest borders. And a forest is more than just its trees. More than 3,000 species of fish and wildlife and 10,000 plant species
including 230 endangered plant and animal species -- rely on National Forests for habitat.
Many people assume our National Forests are off-limits to logging. They aren't. In fact, not only is commercial logging allowed, it's encouraged -- with taxpayers paving the way. From 1992 to 1997, the General Accounting Office said taxpayers lost $2 billion on the logging program. More than 440,000 miles of roads now scar our National Forests; the overwhelming majority of those roads were built for the logging industry and paid for by the American taxpayer.
We have a choice. Our legacy can be polluted streams and forests of stumps, or National Forests that work as nature intended -- filtering pollution out of our water, protecting us from flooding, providing wildlife habitat and a place for us to play and find a little peace. It will take generations for our National Forests to recover -- and that's if we start restoring them immediately. We cannot be timid or take half steps. We must stop logging our National Forests now.
(A list of original co-sponsors is at the end of this message.)
TAKE ACTION
Your Member of Congress needs to hear from you!
Write a letter or call your Member of Congress through the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and thank them for supporting (or urge them to co-sponsor) the National Forest Protection and Restoration Act.
The Honorable Rep. ______ US House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515
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