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For Immediate Release
Suit Seeks to Reveal Bush Administration – Timber Industry Ties Relating to Forest Regulation Changes
WASHINGTON – Defenders of Wildlife filed suit today in U.S. District Court in D.C. to compel the Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service to turn over records related to the suspension of national forest regulations in 2001, and the subsequent rewriting of those regulations. The requested information relates to contacts between the timber industry and Agriculture Department officials, including former timber industry lobbyist Mark Rey, who now oversees the Forest Service.
A recent internal agency draft of new regulations implementing the National Forest Management Act follows at least 8 specific recommendations made by the American Forest and Paper Association, according to Defenders of Widlife.
"The Bush administration is stonewalling our request for information on why they suspended and began rewriting the rules for managing national forests, forcing us to go to court to pry these records loose," said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife. "Just as the administration is withholding documents on the Cheney Energy Task Force and its meetings with energy companies, they are withholding information about national forest regulation activities and meetings. A leaked draft of the administration’s revised forest regulations confirms our worst fears – that they are listening to only to their timber industry supporters."
Key documents are available at National Forests including the text of the leaked agency draft and a comprehensive analysis of how the draft Bush administration regulations reflect the timber companies’ agenda. The draft regulations reflect industry wishes in a number of areas, including: demoting the priority the U.S. Forest Service places on ecological sustainability; eliminating required protections for wildlife; eliminating scientific oversight of agency actions; and reducing mandatory standards for forest management. The regulations would also exempt forest plans from the National Environmental Policy Act, continuing an attack on that law – the Magna Carta of U.S. environmental law – begun last year.
"Gutting the national forest regulations is just the latest attack of the Bush administration’s determined war on national forests, which includes failing to maintain roadless, old growth, and species protections; hiring a former top timber industry lobbyist to oversee the Forest Service; and promoting increased logging and decrease environmental protections in the name of fire prevention," continued Schlickeisen.
Defenders’ request for information was made under the Freedom of Information Act, which requires federal agencies to respond to requests for information, generally within 20 days, and to disclose documents unless they are withheld under certain limited exceptions. Defenders’ original FOIA request was filed nearly five months ago; to date, the Department of Agriculture and Forest Service have not responded, as required by law.
The secrecy surrounding the current regulatory rewrite of the national forest management regulations is in marked contrast to the revision of these same regulations, which took place from 1997 to 2000. That process entailed extensive involvement of the public and the scientific community during a dozen public meetings held across the nation.
The National Forest Management Act of 1976 governs management of all 192 million acres of national forests, and requires forest plans for each of the 155 national forests and 22 national grasslands. National forests harbor much of the nation’s biological diversity – they are home to over 3,000 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, and amphibians, and more than 10,000 plant species, including seventeen percent (over 230) of federally endangered and threatened species and over 2,000 species designated as sensitive. National Forests have significantly more intact populations of rare species than any other system of public lands.
A comprehensive list of other attacks on the National Environmental Policy Act is also posted at: National Forests.
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Defenders of Wildlife is a leading non-profit conservation organization recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat. With more than 430,000 members and supporters - 100,000 of whom are in California - Defenders of Wildlife is an effective leader on endangered species issues. To stay current on hot topics in wildlife conservation, please visit www.defenders.org.
