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Defenders Magazine
Defenders in Action: Bush Weakens National Forest Protections-Again
Defenders and a coalition of conservation groups went to court in May to block the Bush administration's latest attempt to make it easier for industries to log, mine and drill in America's 155 national forests and grasslands.
Similar to the rules struck down by a federal court in 2007, the administration's latest proposed forest-management rules, released in April, eliminate mandatory protections in place since the 1980s. Those regulations required national forests be managed to guarantee viable wildlife populations, to preserve clean, healthy streams and lakes and to protect diverse natural forests. The new Bush rule does away with these requirements and also sharply reduces public participation in forest management decisions.
"America's national forests are the source of much of the country's water supplies, wildlife and wide open spaces, and they should be managed for the overall public interest," says Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife. "That requires a balance between conserving and utilizing resources, not the single-minded pursuit of economic profit—with national forest regulations written specifically for logging, mining and oil and gas industries."
Defenders' lawsuit points out that the Forest Service violated federal law by failing to analyze adequately the environmental impacts of the new regulations. The agency asserts that the new rule, which allows the Forest Service to move ahead with unchecked logging, road building and other harmful activities in areas with at-risk species, will have no environmental effects on the 193 million acres of national forest lands.
"Our national forests and grasslands belong to all Americans, not industry special interests," said Bob Dreher, vice president for conservation law and general counsel of Defenders of Wildlife. "The American public has a right to be involved in planning for the management of their national forests, and to have forest plans that protect the wildlife and other natural resources of those forests for generations to come. The Bush rule fails on all these counts."
For more information, visit www.defenders.org/YourLandsYourWildlife.
