June 16, 1998

Within the last two weeks, there have been several alerts claiming S 1180, the bill reauthorizing the Endangered Species Act by Senator Dirk Kempthorne (R-ID), has a chance of coming up on the Senate floor before the next recess. Last week Senate Majority and Minority Committee staff met to discuss the "Majority" Amendments offered by Senator Trent Lott, but nothing conclusive was decided. This week, Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Harry Reid (D-NV) are meeting with the Clinton Administration to discuss strategy. In politics, rumors can become reality. Call your Senator today to oppose S 1180. We can’t allow this to "slip" by late in the 105th Session. 

Piece by Piece, More federal land designations

The Energy and Natural Resources National Parks, Historic Preservation and Recreation Subcommittee is holding hearings June 18 on several land grab bills: S 469, to designate a portion of the Sudbury, Assabet and the Concord Rivers as a part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System; S 1016, to authorize appropriations for the Coastal Heritage Trail Route in New Jersey; S 1665, to reauthorize the Delaware and Lehigh Navigation Canal National Heritage Corridor; and, S 2039 to designate El Comino Real de Tierra Adentro as a National Historic Trail. And you thought the federal lands were in the West. 

AHRI Committee Meeting in St. Louis 

The American Heritage River Advisory Committee met Tuesday, June 16, to finalize their choices for ten AHRI river designations. According to the Federal Register notice, those who attended as public participants were not allowed to speak because of "equity considerations." A rally opposing the meeting was held outside. LM has recently acquired full copies of the May 11, 12 Washington D.C. meeting’s transcripts (500 pages) which can be accessed through our Website, under AHRI in the Issue Center. 

According to The Relief Report (6/15/98), the Senate may soon vote on a bill that the Clinton Administration could use to funnel money to the environmental movement. S 1758, the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 by Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), would authorize $400 million over three years to finance debt-for-nature swaps. Under the program, President Clinton could offer debt relief to certain developing countries, provided they agree to establish special funds in their own currencies for conservation programs. The bill would allow funds to go to "nongovernmental environmental, conservation, an indigenous peoples organizations of, or active in, the beneficiary state." The words "active in" are significant in that they provide a loophole through which U.S. based environmental organizations could obtain funding. For more information, contact David Ridenour of The National Center for Public Policy Research at 202-543-1286 or Dridenour@nationalcenter.org. Faxback Doc. 313 

HR 858, the Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery and Economic Stability Act of 1997 is a wolf in sheep clothing for property rights. Although hailed as a local solution to a national problem, this pilot project eliminates key user groups from the negotiating table, such as grazing, hunting, and fishermen through the incorporation of the Scientific Analysis Team (SAT) guidelines developed for the Northern Spotted Owl. The Bill allows local input into timber harvest plans through a self-appointed consensus group of timber representatives, environmentalists and others. According to a report released by The National Center for Public Policy Research, the plan will bind foresters, but not environmentalists to the agreement because the bill explicitly states: "Nothing in this section exempts the pilot project from any federal environmental law." In the SAT report grazing can be eliminated in certain areas and buffer zones up to 300 feet could be established around surface waters. The bill is now pending in the Senate (S 1028), and is currently attached to S 1079. Politicians are quickly jumping on board to look green. Call your Senator and oppose this bill before this type of "consensus group" is used in your area.