California forests win strong advocates in Nov. 2010 election!
Almost all Forests Forever-backed candidates sweep into office
Where candidates were concerned, California’s
forests came out a big winner in the
November 2010 general election.
Beginning with Jerry Brown in his bid for a return to the governor’s
office, all of the top-of-the-ticket
contenders endorsed by Forests Forever
won decisive victories – with
the possible exception of Kamala
Harris for attorney general,
in a tight race unlikely to be decided
before early December.
“Gov.-elect Jerry Brown will
undoubtedly be a better force for
the environment than his opponent
would have been,” said Forests
Forever Legislative Advocate Luke
Breit. “During his first two
terms as governor and as attorney
general, he has been a a great believer
in environmental protection. He strongly
supported A.B. 32 and opposed Proposition
23.” See related story, below.
Read
more
Voters split on forest-friendly ballot propositions
They back budget sanity and CO2 controls but not parks fee
Two
wins and two losses characterized
Forests Forever’s recommendations
for and against ballot propositions
in the Nov. 2 general election.
The
two wins were big ones that will make
a huge difference in the state’s
ability to effectively control greenhouse
gas emissions and create green industries
incorporating long-term sustainable
logging practices, in turn employing
thousands of workers. One of the victorious
measures expedites on-time action
on the politically contentious state
budget, freeing up lawmakers’
attention and resources for other
state matters, including forestry
reform.
AB
1504 a welcome victory
in
a rough season
Governor's
signature a rare concession
to forests defenders
Forests
Forever’s efforts to pass forestry-reform
legislation this year produced a big
win in Sacramento that will help determine
the extent to which California’s
forests serve as a cushion against global
warming.
That victory followed another win in
the state legislature on a Forests Forever-sponsored
bill that ultimately got scuttled by
the governor’s veto. The measure
would have ordered two forestry pilot
projects to determine methods of undoing
the cumulative damage done by multiple
logging projects in watersheds containing
salmon runs. Though such studies are
vital to restoring lost runs, Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger vetoed the measure for
reasons that don’t quite add up.
Forests Forever also made great headway
on another salmon-related bill introduced
in 2009, a measure that ended up being
sidelined through nobody’s fault
and likely will be re-introduced in
the near future.
Meanwhile our big legislative accomplishment
is cause for celebration, in part because
it represents a rare instance in which
the legislature and governor at a time
when both were focused primarily on
the state’s budget crisis, agreed
to act on a forest issue.
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