President Bush signed the "Healthy Forests and Restoration Act of 2003" (HFRA) into law on Dec. 3. The deceptively named act will affect the future of California's 18 national forests, but it is unlikely to make them any healthier or to protect nearby communities from wildfires.

In spite of its title and the claims made for the act by the Bush administration, the HFRA will not likely protect our forests from catastrophic wildfires such as those that ravaged Southern California this fall. It will do little or nothing to protect most communities from fires on the forestlands nearest them. The act will limit public input into the decisions of the U.S. Forest Service, and prevent citizen enforcement of environmental laws.

"The final measure was very disappointing," said Paul Hughes, executive director of Forests Forever. "The heavily publicized [Feinstein-Wyden] compromise version that emerged from the Senate is not anywhere near what is needed to truly limit wildfires. What the president signed mostly represents a big new loophole for the timber companies."

The act applies only to federal lands- yet according to the Forest Service itself, most of the forested land close to communities vulnerable to wildfire is privately owned. The best way to prevent wildfires from damaging communities, again according to the Forest Service's own experts, is brush-clearing near homes. But the act's loose definition of what constitutes "nearby" would concentrate logging up to a mile and a half away from settled areas, and would level many flame-resistant mature trees, not just flammable brush. It would also allow "temporary" roads to be built- at taxpayer expense- into currently roadless areas. There, additional "fuels-reduction" projects could proceed.

As if all this weren't bad enough, provisions of the HFRA would severely limit public comment on Forest Service projects. The administration claims that appeals and lawsuits by environmentalists are keeping the Forest Service from preventing wildfires. But this was refuted by the U.S. General Accounting Office, which reported that none of the Forest Service's fuels-reduction projects were litigated in the first nine months of 2001. By limiting opportunities for public comment, the act in effect gives a free pass to the Forest Service to open public lands to the logging industry without being forced to consider alternative solutions.

As with so many Bush administration initiatives, HFRA will benefit profit-driven corporations at the expense of the public and the environment.

TAKE ACTION

It's not too late to write your legislators and tell them that you are pleased with their efforts to oppose HFRA in its worst forms, or disappointed with those who supported the bill. American Lands Alliance has contact information and sample letters at

http://www.americanlands.org/senate_1904_post_vote_materials.htm

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Cal.) especially needs to hear from concerned Californians. She was a leader in bringing the final HFRA to fruition, angering environmentalists in her state and beyond.

The year 2004 will almost certainly bring an escalation in the fight to protect our vast federal forests and roadless areas. The Bush administration has recently launched- or promised to launch- assaults on the Sierra Nevada Framework plan, Northwest Forest Plan, National Forest Management Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and more.

Stay tuned for further word from Forests Forever in the new year.