This Week In Congress
The vote on HR 1904, the "Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003” takes place in Congress in the next few days. Remember the law of Blog Baby when it comes to naming bills in Congress. You can usually be assured that the content of the bill will be the opposite of the name.
There is much science out there and some of it is good science and other science is funded by the companies who have a need for a desired result. Now, who am I to claim that I can separate the two? However, it seems to me that cutting healthy timber sized trees is not the best way to suppress forest fires on public lands. These trees are the ones that normally will survive a fire. Yet, this is what the bill will do.
Instead of helping communities get people to clear off their lands near their dwellings of the kind of brush and small trees that feed fires towards habited areas the bill concentrates its efforts in areas that are way far from where people live. That seems strange to me.
It also appears that this bill prohibits local people from challenging the decisions to take a particular piece of property to pieces by limiting their ability to challenge the logging companies in court. That seems downright undemocratic to me. But what do I know.
And not only will the bill authorize the cutting of healthy trees, but you will also be asked to subsidize the timber companies quest to gain riches off the land that you own by subsidizing the roads that they need to reach the trees. Many of these roads will be cut on lands that are currently deemed road less because of past decisions that they are worthy of saving for future generations. The bill specifically includes new subsidies of $125 million. I for one think that the free market should prevail in this instance. Let the lumber companies spend their money and not mine to get richer.
Maybe you want to spend your grandkids legacy. I know many who think that is a good idea. I sort of figure that I have had my chance to visit those damned trees and I want my grandson to have the same opportunity that I had.
Please join with me and call your local representative to urge him or her to oppose this bill. You can do so toll free by calling 1-800-839-5276.
2:26:16 PM 
|
