For balance, we present the President's views on healthy forests and illegal logging.
From the campaign site:
Myth & Fact
Myth: The Healthy Forests Initiative allows clear-cutting and logging of old-growth trees, and removes public involvement from so-called “fuels reduction” projects.
Fact: The legislation the President signed in December 2003 implementing his Healthy Forests Initiative, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act, specifically protects old-growth trees. Currently, 190 million acres of public lands are at risk of catastrophic fires. In 2002-2003 alone, 147,049 fires burned nearly 11 million acres. And drought conditions have led to an early start in the 2004 fire season within portions of the Western United States.
The Healthy Forests Restoration Act:
* Reduces dense undergrowth, which fuels catastrophic fires, through thinning and prescribed burns;
* Improves the public involvement in the review process by providing opportunities for earlier participation, thus accomplishing projects in a more timely fashion;
* Selects projects on a collaborative basis involving local, tribal, state, Federal and non-governmental entities;
* Focuses projects on Federal lands that meet strict criteria for risk of wildfire damage to communities, water supply systems and the environment;
* Authorizes the Healthy Forests Reserve Program, to protect, restore and enhance degraded forest ecosystems on private lands to promote the recovery of threatened and endangered species;
* Encourages biomass energy production through grants and assistance to local communities creating market incentives for removal of otherwise valueless forest material; and
* Develops an accelerated program on certain Federal lands to combat insect infestations.
