A departing President pushes to pave our precious parks

January 4, 3:42 PMDC Corporate Ethics ExaminerJim Cunningham

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U.S. Forest Policy Is Set to Change,

Aiding Developer Shift Would Let Firm Pave Logging Roads

 

One of the last things Clinton did as he left office was to impose a rule, one which Republicans hated, that protected millions of acres of forest land from having paved roads built through them. One of Bush’s first acts, upon entering office, was to do his best to undo that protection. He has, in fact, turned over much of our forestland over to logging companies under the guise of protecting them by clearing underbrush – a ruse, of course, the courts saw right through, first by declaring it required environmental safeguards, and later by scolding the Administration for not considering any other method for paying for the clearing of brush except by offering old-growth trees in payment to logging companies. Other funding options should have been explored and exhausted first, a court declared.. Eight years later, on his way out of office, one of his final acts as President may be to turn forest land over to be paved in favor of vacation homes and subdivisions, continuing his philosophy of seeing our natural resources as an opportunity for profit in the short term rather than something that should be protected for future generations.
 

"Just within the last couple weeks, they finalized a big subdivision west of Kalispell," said D. James McCubbin, deputy county attorney of Missoula County, which complained that the closed-door negotiations violated federal laws requiring public comment because the changes would affect endangered species and sensitive ecosystems.”