conservativealerts - 5/20

[Der Alte]

Quote[/b] ]ISSUE: You know all those huge forest fires we've been having?
It turns out that a few environmentalist whacko organizations may
be responsible.

According to CNSNews.com, a new report says that "environmental
activist groups oppose the practice of forest thinning - even
in cases where tree-cutting would help prevent wildfires in
nearby communities." A General Accounting Office study found
that seven environmental groups are responsible for most of
the administrative appeals filed against forest thinning
projects. According to the GAO, activists appealed 52 percent
of tree-cutting projects intended to protect nearby communities
in 2001 and 2002, and most of those appeals were found to be
without merit.

Members of the House Resources Committee expressed outrage
over the GAO's findings. In a statement, committee chairman
Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA) called the findings "appalling,
especially when you think of the catastrophic losses suffered
in last year's horrific fire season alone... not only losses
of forest, endangered species, and wildlife habitat; they were
losses of human life and family property."

Pombo and other critics say environmentalists file frivolous
administrative appeals to support their inflexible "hands-off-
the-forests" agenda. The appeals force months of delay in
carrying out forest-thinning projects.

A bill pending in the House -- The Healthy Forests Restoration
Act, introduced by Rep. Scott McInnis (R-CO) -- would
streamline the appeals process -- something that's needed to
protect lives and property. This bill needs to pass, before
even more catastrophic fires hit large forests.

ACTION ITEM: H.R. 1904, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act,
is on a fast-track for voting in the House of Representatives.
We need to contact Congress and demand this bill be passed into
law as quickly as possible.

Go to our site below to ask your Representative to support H.R.
1904, and save our forests from being burned down:

http://www.conservativealer ts.com/052003.htm
<a href="http://www.conservativealer ts.com/052003.htm"> AOL GO HERE </a>

NOTE: Please be sure to forward this to everyone you know who
wants to put an end to the legal obstructionism by environmental
extremists, which lead to more and larger forest fires. Thank
you!

------------------------------------------------------------

HELP STOP THE TREE HUGGERS FROM RUINING OUR FORESTS

[primate]

The fundamental problem of forest fires is that while many occur naturally, caused by lightning strikes, the management of forests has been very unnatural for decades.
forest fires can be natures way of clearing out fast burning underbrush and actually prevent catastophic fires by periodically limiting the combustible material. Several native plant species actually require fires for viable reproduction.
Unfortunately, forest management though timber harvests has cleared vast areas of older and more resiliant canopy, providing space and sunlight for the underbrush to grow disproportionately thick. This in turn prohibits regrowth of the canopy species that grow slowly and are choked out by the rapid growth of the 'tinder' brush.
The forest services have begun to recognize this issue and perform controlled burns on a rotational basis. This has saved many areas from catastrophic fires.
But, alas the Bush policy of allowing exploitive timber interests to harvest old growth will actually make the problem worse, as large, dense-wood trees are more highly valued as timber.
one can expect more grass and brush fires with catastrophic consequences due largely to this policy.

[rellybois]

Quote[/b] (Der Alte @ May 20, 2003 -- 8:13 pm)]You know all those huge forest fires we've been having? It turns out that a few environmentalist whacko organizations may be responsible.
I LOVE THE LOGIC THAT MADE YOU ARRIVE AT THIS CONCLUSION. NO, IT COULDN'T BE THE RANGERS THAT START "CONTROLLED" FIRES THAT GET OUT OF CONTROL, IT MUST BE THE PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT THE PRESERVATION OF OUR NATION'S FORESTS.
AND JUST SO YOU KNOW...PRESIDENT BUSH GOT HIS FOREST-CLEARING BILL PASSED YESTERDAY, SO THAT SHOULD GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO BE HAPPY ABOUT.

[Der Alte]

rellybois, you are crediting me with the quote in your post. Maybe if you checked you would see that you took it from a quote that I posted from Conservativealerts. I post quotes from several organizations for information. I am happy that the forest clearing bill passed. http://gopusa.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Der Alte]

The following is the response from my (democratic) congressman on this subject.

Quote[/b] ]Thank you for contacting me in support of H.R. 1904, the Healthy Forest Restoration Act. It was good to hear from you, and I appreciate your taking the time to let me know of your support for this legislation.

In 2000, 8.4 million acres of national forest land were destroyed by wildfires, which cost state, local and federal officials approximately $1.3 billion to suppress. In 2001, 3.6 million acres of forests burned, costing more than $900 million. Last year, 6.9 million acres burned and fire suppression costs totaled approximately $1.6 billion. This year, conditions are ripe for another active fire season.

I share your concern about the need to better manage our national forests to prevent similar catastrophic fires from occurring. H.R. 1904 proposes to give the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management authority to treat our public lands so they will be less susceptible to fire, insects, and diseases. You will be pleased to know that H.R. 1904 was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, with my support, by a vote of 256 - 170.

I fully support our President and our armed forces in the fight to defeat our enemies and eliminate the threat of terrorist attacks on the American people. I am working with our national leaders to support policies that will defend our values, protect our children and our families, put our people back to work and get our economy back on track. I look forward to your continued input on these and other issues as I do so.


Looks like we can mark one up for the good guys.