http://www.commondreams.org/news2003/0822-02.htm
[ "Undercutting
National Forest Protections: How the Bush Administration is Using
the Judicial System to Weaken Environmental Laws" (PDF file,
1.34 MB) ]
[ "WEAKENING
THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT: How the Bush Administration
Uses the Judicial System to Weaken Environmental Protections"
(PDF file, 160 KB) ]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 21, 2003, 4:26 PM
CONTACT: Defenders
of Wildlife (http://www.defenders.org/)
Brad DeVries 202-772-0237
Bush
Forest Initiative Masks Policy Attacks on Forestry Law,
Says Defenders of Wildlife
WASHINGTON - August 21 - As President Bush touts his "Healthy
Forests Initiative" around the West, Defenders of Wildlife
today asked Americans to look beyond the President's rhetoric
to the very real and devastating impact of his environmental
policies.
"The Bush administration
keeps breaking the laws requiring
environmentally and publicly acceptable management of our
national forests. The good news is that the courts have
generally stopped them cold," said Schlickeisen. "But
the
bad news is that they continue with a full court press
within the bureaucracy to rewrite regulations against
the public and the environment in favor of corporate
interests."
Last July, Defenders
released a detailed analysis of
the administration's systematic assault on the National
Forests; "Undercutting National Forest Protections:
How the Bush Administration is Using the Judicial
System to Weaken Environmental Laws," is at
http://www.defenders.org/publications/forest_report03.pdf.
The report is the second
in a series by the Defenders of
Wildlife Judicial Accountability Project, prepared with
the assistance of the Vermont Law School's Environmental
and Natural Resources Law Clinic.
"Our report clearly
demonstrates this administration's
approach to environmental regulation -- break the law,
argue in court to have laws overturned, and then rewrite
the rules when judgments don't go your way," said Schlickeisen.
As the report shows,
courts have accused the administration
of "extra legal effort 1/8s 3/8 to circumvent the law"
and
"mystical legal prestidigitation" (Wilderness Society
v. Rey),
"bait-and-switch" (Friends of Clearwater v. McAllister),
attempting to "eviscerate the public's role in land use
decisions" (Native Ecosystems Council v. Reese), donning
"blinders to the overall condition of a national forest,"
and "losing sight of the forest for the trees" (Neighbors
of Cuddy Mountain v. Alexander).
"The bottom line
is that behind closed doors and away
from public view, the Bush Administration is allowing
big corporations and industry insiders to determine
government policies that will seriously weaken
implementation of our environmental laws,"
Schlickeisen said.
Defenders of
Wildlife is a leading nonprofit 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, Defenders
of Wildlife is an effective leader on endangered species
issues. To stay current on hot topics in wildlife
conservation, subscribe to DENlines, Defenders of
Wildlife's electronic update and action alert network.
To subscribe to DENlines or for more information on
Defenders of Wildlife projects, please click here
(http://www.defenders.org/).
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