The Bush administration has launched an unprecedented series of attacks on public lands and the species that depend on them. Instead of supporting the public's desire to protect our remaining wild forests and to restore degraded wildlands to create good jobs, the administration is moving back to catering to special corporate interests and serving as the henchmen of the timber industry. These attacks threaten over 191 million acres of National Forest lands nationwide, including 5.6 million acres included in the Six Rivers, Shasta-Trinity, Klamath, and Mendocino National Forests here in Northwest California.
Recent actions by the Bush administration to increase logging on National Forests include proposals to amend the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), National Forest Management Act (NFMA), Appeals Reform Act (ARA), and Northwest Forest Plan (NFP). These proposals, created through secret backroom deals with industry, would eliminate or weaken our most fundamental forest and wildlife conservation laws, undermine citizens' rights to participate in the management of public lands, expedite reckless logging, degrade ecosystem health and clean drinking water, and increase severe forest fires.
Gutting the Northwest Forest Plan
Targeting the Pacific Northwest's ancient forests, the administration has proposed to remove or weaken two important components of the plan governing 24 million acres of federal lands in the Cascade and coastal mountains of Washington, Oregon, and northern California.
Neutralizing the National Forest Management Act
Seeking to open up federal lands to more intensive resource extraction, the administration has announced plans to eliminate and undermine key provisions of the regulations that implement the National Forest Management Act on over 191 million acres of federal lands.
Taking the "Public" Out of Public Lands
Attempting to increase the commercial exploitation of federal lands, the administration has issued several new rules that limit meaningful public participation in the management of our National Forests and make it harder for citizens to hold the government accountable.
More Information
- Another EPIC Court Victory Helps Protect the Legal Safety Net (May 17, 2007)
The Forest Service's continuing effort to do away with the "viability" regulation cited by the court in the East Fork case was soundly rejected by a San Francisco federal court on March 30, 2007. - Judge fells federal timber project (October 15, 2004)
The Eureka Times-Standard. A U.S. Magistrate judge has blocked a timber sale on the Mendocino National Forest after finding the project's full effects weren't examined. - Bush Administration Undoes Roadless Protections for National Forests (July 12, 2004)
Today, the Bush Administration announced the latest in a series of rule changes that would gut the "Roadless Rule" on public lands. The Roadless Rule, developed by the Forest Service under President Clinton,... - Public Lands Under Fire: The Attack on "Indicator Species" and the Northwest Forest Plan (April 1, 2004)
While the war wages on in Iraq, the Bush Administration continues to wage a different kind of war here at home, quietly gutting environmental regulations and protections for forests, fish, and wildlife acros... - 'Healthy Forests Initiative': A Campaign of Severe Forest Policy Rollbacks (December 1, 2003)
As massive fires raged in Southern California, the Bush Administration's attempts to establish the "Healthy Forests Initiative" were fueled by the flames. - Groups Sue over the Deceptive Bush Administration's "Healthy Forests Initiative" (July 1, 2003)
Garberville, CA. The Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) and seventeen other environmental and conservation organizations from across the nation filed suit yesterday against two sets of regul... - Bush Administration Moves to Dismantle Northwest Forest Plan (May 23, 2003)
Loss of Protection for Wildlife is a Sweetheart Deal for the Timber Industry
Garberville, CA - The Bush administration today is expected to unveil their plan to eliminate protection for many rare and sensitive wildlife associated with old growth forests of the Pacific northwest. The ... - House Passes Fatally Flawed Forest Fire Bill (May 20, 2003)
Bill Sacrifices Home Protection, Citizen Participation and Environmental Laws for Benefit of Logging Industry
Garberville, CA - Today, at 4:45 PM Eastern, the U.S. House passed the "Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003." This misguided piece of wildfire legislation does virtually nothing to help protect rural hom... - House Set to Vote on Fire Legislation that Fails to Protect Communities (May 20, 2003)
New GAO Report Undermines Premise Of McInnis Bill
Garberville, CA - The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote today on a bill introduced by Rep. Scott McInnis (R-CO) that claims to reduce the risk of wildfire but in reality does next to nothing... - 103 Conservation Groups to Congress: McInnis Bill Does Nothing to Protect Communities (May 8, 2003)
Groups Claim McInnis Bill Will Only Limit Citizen Participation and Increase Logging on America's National Forests
GARBERVILLE, CA - Today, 103 conservation groups from around the nation, including the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC), sent a letter every member of the U.S. House of Representatives aski... - 107 Members of Congress, 325 Scientists, More than 100,000 Citizens Oppose Changes to Forest Policy (April 7, 2003)
WASHINGTON - More than 100 congressional representatives today joined 325 scientists and researchers, including Michael Soule, Gordon Orians and renowned Harvard scientist E. O. Wilson, and more than 100,000... - Deal on Lawless Logging Legislation Pending (September 19, 2002)
Senator Feinstein Introduces Harmful Compromise that Threatens Wild Forests and Citizen's Rights
Garberville, California - The Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) today blasted efforts by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and the Bush Administration to weaken environmental safeguards for pu... - Bush Administration and congress move to increase logging under the guise of 'Fire Risk Reduction' (September 5, 2002)
Bill Threatens to Eliminate Environmental Laws and Block Citizens From Protecting National Forests
Garberville, California -- The Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) today denounced the latest efforts by the Bush Administration and some lawmakers to increase logging of ancient trees, elimin...
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