Stop Destruction of Forest

EARTHKEEPING NEWS
A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY

Volume Four, Number One
September/October 1994

Call to Action:

Help Congress Stop Destruction of Forest Ecosystems

In spite of campaign rhetoric, the Clinton administration and the Forest Service continue, in the interests of industry jobs and trade, to pursue high levels of timber extraction and sales. Lobbying by timber, paper and construction interests is intense. Congress is reluctant to act. There are no laws applicable nationwide to protect ancient and virgin forest ecosystems or preserve biological diversity.

Fragmented state by state legislation fails to mandate forest protection in large enough blocks to sustain biodiversity. Our understanding of ecosystems and the interdependent processes of creation has increased to the point that now public pressure is mounting for comprehensive ecosystem protection. Two large scale protection bills have been introduced into the House of Representatives:

HR 1164 - The Forest Biodiversity and Clearcutting Prohibition Act (John Bryant D-TX) would require protection and restoration of native biological diversity in federal forests throughout the United States. It would prohibit road building (which costs more tax dollars than logging operations produce), in all federal roadless areas. It would ban clearcutting ("even aged management"), artificial tree farms, pesticides and herbicides on all federal lands, nationwide. This bill has over 100 sponsors.

HR 2638 - the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA) (Carolyn Maloney D-NY) would designate over 16 million acres of federal lands as Wilderness, add more than 1,500 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers to the national system, establish wild lands connecting corridors, wild land recovery areas and two National Park and Preserve Study areas. This bill has over 90 co-sponsors.

For free copies of these bills call the House of Representatives Document Office (202) 225-3456.

What you can do: First, you can decrease the demand for wood pulp and virgin paper products by using recycled paper, and recycling the paper you use.

You can increase the demand for alternatives to wood paper by using something else. Ask your church, school, and favorite copy center to try KENAF paper! Kenaf is a tall, fibrous plant related to hibiscus and cotton, grown in California, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. A growing number of businesses are using it for publishing, including Kinko stores in Berkeley CA, Portland OR, Seattle WA and Missoula MT.

Secondly, you can write to your own Congresspersons about co-sponsoring HR 1164 and/or HR 2638 (and thank them if they already have). Then write to Bruce Vento (D-MN), Chairman of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Parks, Forests and Public Lands, urging him to co-sponsor House bills 1164 and 2638 instead of blocking them, and to move them through his committee.

Thirdly, you can write Rep. Charlie Rose (D-NC), Chairman of Agriculture Subcommittee on Specialty Crops and Natural Resources, to provide tax incentives for developing kenaf as an alternative to wood paper.