|
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Paul Hughes, executive director (415) 974-4201
Marc Lecard, communications manager (415) 974-4202
Sept. 14, 2005
Governor snubs forest protection this legislative
year
Wild forest protection bill may still offer redemption
Although he traded on a green platform in his 2003 campaign, Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was no friend of California’s forests
in 2005.
On Sept. 7, Schwarzenegger vetoed SB 744, a bill that would have
enhanced public access to information about timber harvest plans
by making them available online.
To replace a nominee for a seat on the California Board of Forestry
who was unpopular with environmentalists, he nominated an even more
unsuitable candidate.
A bill that would help protect California’s dwindling roadless
forests failed to reach his desk, though it may do so in early 2006.
But resistance to the bill is already coming from the very
cabinet-level agency charged with safeguarding the state’s
forest resources.
In his public statement on the veto of SB 744, the governor said
the California Department of Forestry (CDF) “is working to
improve the public’s access to . . . timber harvest plans
through a pilot internet access program.” He went on to say
that “the prescriptive nature of this bill could interfere
with CDF’s ability to test the practical aspects of converting
documents to an electronic format and displaying them on the internet.”
The only “prescription” the bill made, however, was
to set a time limit on when this conversion would take place. It
would have required the CDF to do what it claims it intends to do
anyway.
“Greater access to public-domain records on logging projects
is something the timber industry does not want,” said Paul
Hughes, executive director of Forests Forever. “We’re
very disappointed that the governor chose to heed his well-heeled
industry backers rather than the elected representatives of all
Californians.”
Ron Nehring, vice-chairman of the California Republican Party, was
appointed to the California Board of Forestry on July 12 by Schwarzenegger.
“Nehring promises to bring a strong bias in favor of the timber
industry,” Hughes said. “He also lacks any actual forestry
experience; his primary qualification for the job seems to be that
his house came close to burning down in a forest fire in 2003.”
A Republican political activist since college, Nehring is a senior
consultant for Americans for Tax Reform, the far-right group founded
by anti-tax activist Grover Norquist (see: http://www.atr.org/).
He was also director of development and public affairs for the National
Center for Public Policy Research (http://www.nationalcenter.org/),
a right-wing think tank that, among many other conservative causes,
argues against taking action to stop global warming and against
preserving roadless forests.
The nine-member Board of Forestry is appointed by the governor and
is supposed to represent a range of interests. “Nehring’s
appointment would tip the balance of the board yet further in favor
of industry and away from sound forestry and citizen participation,”
Hughes said.
AB 715, authored by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys), would
prevent state agencies and departments from assisting the federal
government in any action not compatible with the original, protective
2001 federal Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The bill ran out of
time in this session, however, and will not be voted on until legislative
business resumes next year. One of its main opponents was the California
Resources Agency.
“We value wild, roadless forests in this state,” Hughes
said. “And we shouldn’t be forced to help in their destruction.
If the federal government doesn’t want to protect roadless
areas from logging and development, then California will have to
step up. AB 715 will give us a place to start.”
There are 18 national forests in California; inventoried roadless
areas within them cover about 4.4 million acres. It is these roadless
areas that the recent Bush administration repeal of the 2001 roadless
rule would leave vulnerable to logging, roadbuilding, and other
kinds of development.
Schwarzenegger said back in November 2004 that he would not file
a petition under the new Bush administration rule. He is seeking
instead to negotiate a state-specific rule for California with the
Forest Service. The governor has not yet indicated whether he will
sign AB 715.
“We hope the governor will keep his promise to ‘keep
California’s roadless areas roadless’ by signing this
bill,” Hughes said. “Rather than listen to the timber
industry and the industry-
friendly officials in CDF and Resources, he should listen to the
people of California.
“Californians who are concerned with preserving their wild
forests– and that is most of us– should let the governor
know how they feel.”
Forests Forever is a nonprofit group in San Francisco dedicated
to protecting California’s forests.
The Forests Forever website has more information on the above topics.
For SB 744, see: https://www.forestsforever.org/SB744veto.html
For the Nehring nomination, see: https://www.forestsforever.org/nehringalert.html
For AB 715, see: https://www.forestsforever.org/AB715timeout.html
–
30 –
|