Paying Tax Money to Corporations to Ruin Public Lands
Another Corruption Scandal Hits Bush
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Here is a news announcement from the American Lands Alliance. We agree that giving away money and public assets is ridiculous. But has American Lands Alliance any plan that will bring in revenue from public lands, so that corrupt politicians will stop trying to ruin them or give them away? Let's promote a sound market-based land lease program, or else this same fight will repeat itself every year. |
The President's Budget for fiscal year 2008, released on Monday, continues to undermine our national forest heritage and recreation opportunities, while doling out subsidies and promises of more logs to timber interests.
Corporate Welfare Scandals
The President's budget calls for a whopping 68% increase in logging (from 2.1 billion board feet in FY06 to 3.5 billion board feet for FY08) and has provided an increase of $41 million to the timber program to reach that goal. Under particularly heavy attack are the lands protected by the Northwest Forest Plan. The Northwest Forest Plan, developed in 1994, ended the bitter Northwest timber wars of the late 80s and early 90s and protected much of the remaining old growth forests in Washington, Oregon and Northern California from rampant clearcutting.
The Bush administration has been looking for ways to circumvent the Northwest Forest plan's popular protections and deliver timber to the industry on their way out of office. Signaling their intent to undermine old growth protections, the President's budget increases funding for the Plan that would allow forests roughly the size of 20,000 footballs fields to be logged including clearcutting some of the remaining iconic old growth forests. As a result the region's old growth forests, clean water and salmon runs, habitat for hundreds of rare and imperiled animals and plants, and a part of America's outdoor heritage are put at risk.
While the timber sale program gets bigger and bigger with these budget increases, opportunities for the public to recreate on national forest lands grow smaller and smaller. The Recreation, Wilderness & Heritage program is slated for a nearly $30 million cut when it should be increased to meet the public's growing recreational demands. This decrease in funding will result in more closures of trails, campsites, and public facilities that make visits to the national forests possible for many families.
The President's budget also includes a proposal to sell 300,000 acres of national forest lands to fund rural schools and roads. This is the second time that this misguided plan to sell America's public lands has been proposed to pay for unnecessary government programs. It is up to Congress to find a solution that supports rural communities while protecting our public lands for their enjoyment and use by all Americans.
"The FY 2008 budget for the National Forest system shows the Administration's disregard for protecting our national forest heritage by favoring the timber industry and limiting the ability for Americans to enjoy these treasures," stated Randi Spivak of the American Lands Alliance.
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Also see: Green Scissors Project Finds Obvious Spending Cuts
Amid Huge Deficits, Congress Still Spending on Welfare Handouts to Corporations
Taxpayers Should Not be Forced to Fund Corporate Welfare Queens |
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