From: alra@governance.net Subject: Action Alert – Calls needed now! – Greens Tie Up FS Uses Land Rights Network American Land Rights Association PO Box 400 – Battle Ground, WA 98604 Phone: 360-687-3087 – Fax: 360-687-2973 E-mail: alra@landrights.org or alra@governance.net Web Address: http://www.landrights.org Legislative Office: 507 Seward Square SE – Washington, DC 20003 Action Alert – Calls needed now! – Greens Tie Up FS Uses Action Alert – Calls, faxes and letters needed in the next three days Legislative Fix Needed to the Categorical Exclusion Debacle Congress must be deluged with calls You have three days. Call every day. Don’t stop. Pass the word. Background: On July 7 and clarified on September 16, US District Court Judge Singleton ordered the Forest Service to allow for the notice, comment and appeal of all decisions for resource management projects that utilize the categorical exclusion (CE) process. CE is an approved method of making decisions for minor projects that allows the agency to bypass the lengthy NEPA process. A lawsuit filed by Earth Island Institute and other environmental organizations, directly challenged the exemption of the notice, comment and appeal requirements of the Appeals Reform Act given to CEs. At first the Forest Service only applied the judge’s decision to the Eastern District of California where the case was filed. But the plaintiffs threatened the Forest Service with contempt if it wasn’t applied to all CE projects across the nation. On September 17, the judge clarified that his order applied to all national forests. This ruling can extend the process for approving projects by at least four months. The projects that are affected by this ruling include: · Fuelwood cutting · Mushroom picking · Christmas tree cutting · Forest health and fuels reduction projects · Recreational special use permits for camps, events, outfitters and cabin use · Road use permits · Wildlife, fishery and watershed improvement projects · Grazing permits · Oil & gas permits · Repair and maintenance of recreation sites, roads and facilities *****Action Item: We need calls, faxes and letters to the following Congressional offices over the next three days. The message is: The Earth Island Institute lawsuit on Categorical Exclusions must be fixed. Categorical Exclusions have not, and should not be required to meet the Appeals Reform Act. Nationwide there are over 1400 projects affected by Judge Singleton's ruling which stopped all projects that were signed between July 7th and September 16th. Environmental groups have threatened to take the Forest Service to court to seek a contempt of court finding if any of these projects move forward. In addition, the Forest Service estimates over 9,000 other projects scheduled to be completed in FY 2006 will be delayed for several months due to Judge Singleton's insistence on a comment and appeals period for each project. This impact is unacceptable to the sound management of our national forests and affects the public across the entire spectrum of interests. Please fix this problem immediately, for the sake of our forests, wildlife, watersheds and the general public. Please call these Congressmen and Senators NOW! Representative Jerry Lewis (CA) (Full Appropriations Committee Chairman) – 202-225-5861, Fax: 202-225-6498 Representative David Obey (WI) (Full Appropriations Committee Ranking Member) – 202-225-3365, Fax: 715-842-4488 Senator Thad Cochran (MS) (Full Appropriations Committee Chairman) – 202-224-5054, Fax: 202-224-9450 Representative Richard Pombo (CA) (Resources Committee Chairman) - 202-225-1947, Fax: 202-226-0861 Representative Nick Rahall (WV) (Resources Committee Ranking Member) – 202-225-3452, Fax: 202-225-9061 Senator Robert Bennett (UT) (Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman) - 202-224-5444, Fax: 202-228-1168 Representative Henry Bonilla (TX) (Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman) – 202-225-4511, Fax: 202-225-2237 Representative Bob Goodlatte (VA) (Agriculture Committee Chairman) – 202-225-5431 , Fax: 202-225-9681 Representative Collin Peterson (MN) (Agriculture Committee Ranking Member) – 202-225-2165, Fax: 202-225-1593 Other Members of the Appropriations Committees that need calls, faxes and e-mails. Calls and faxes are most important. House Call all Congressmen at (202) 225-3121. That is the Capitol Switchboard. Ask for the Congressman’s office. Be sure to ask for his or her fax number and e-mail address when you give the above message in your own words. Greg Walden (R-OR) Norm Dicks (D-WA) Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) Marion Berry (D-AR) Charles Taylor (R-NC) Martin Sabo (D-MN) Ernst Istook (R-OK) Alan Mollohan (D-WV) Roger Wicker (R-MS) Chet Edwards (D-TX) Robert Aderholt (R-AL) James Clyburn (D-SC) Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) David Price (D-NC) John E Peterson (R-PA) Allen Boyd (D-FL) John Doolittle (R-CA) Robert Cramer (D-AL) Don Sherwood (R-PA) Jon Culberson (R-TX) Dennis Rehberg (R-MT) Rodney Alexander (R-LA) Senate Call all Senators at (202) 224-3121. Follow the same procedure as with the House. Ted Steven (R-AK) Tim Johnson (D-SD) Pete Domenici (R-NM) Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-MO) Conrad Burns (R-MT) Larry Craig (R-ID) Sam Brownback (KS) Wayne Allard (CO) Please forward this message as widely as possible. -- To unsubscribe from this mailing list; please visit http://governance.net and enter your email address.