October 1998 Conservation Update

VOTE: One of the most significant activist steps you can take is free, easy but only possible one day a year: Vote on November 3^rd. Vote because there’s much to still care about, much to protect. For information about your polling place, contact the Board of Elections or town clerk. For information about candidates in your area, call the League of Conservation Voters 202-785-8683. In New England, call New England Environmental Voters, 603-430-8312.

Appropriations for the Land and Water Conservation Fund: After much delay, Congress passed an Omnibus Budget bill to provide funding for the federal government for 1999. Included in that enormous piece of legislation was $328 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. This is significantly higher than the House approved initially ($139 million). It is also more money that was included in the President’s or the Senate’s budget. In our region, funds will go towards such projects as the Appalachian Trail, C & O Canal, MD, Acadia National Park, ME, Prince William Forest Park, VA, Morristown National Historic Park, NJ. Unfortunately, this sum does not include grants to states to develop and enhance recreational facilities and to protect open spaces through state park systems, county parks or through towns. For more information about what LWCF was once able to do in your community, contact Ruth Dinerman, 413-443-0011 or via email: rdinerman@amcinfo.org

Air Quality: The Environmental Protection Agency is about to announce a settlement with a number of heavy truck manufacturers, after the EPA discovered that the manufacturers deliberately designed diesel truck engines to avoid compliance with the Clean Air Act. Trucks are responsible for about one third of the nitrogen oxide emissions in the Northeast. Nitrogen oxide causes smog and acid rain. The settlement does not demand a recall of all the trucks; instead the EPA is working to ensure that the problem is corrected when truck engines need to be rebuilt every 3-4 years. The EPA is also demanding the companies pay about one billion dollars in fines and towards repairing the damage that has been done. Write Administrator Browner, EPA, 401 M St. S.W., Washington DC 20460 to ensure that the EPA hold all motorized vehicles to the standard of the Clean Air Act.

Last month I reported that the EPA initiated a new rule to reduce haze. The rule targets nitrogen oxide, which creates ozone and causes smog. Nitrogen oxide does not cause regional haze.

Roadless Areas in National Forests: The Clinton Administration is considering whether to extend the moratorium on building new roads in National Forests. The temporary ban began in January 1998, but it excluded National Forests in Alaska and in the Pacific Northwest. Roadless areas are essential for wildlife habitat, clean drinking water, and offer a chance for a wilderness experience. Let President Clinton and Vice President Gore know that the moratorium should continue and should include any roadless area of 1,000 acres or more as the last vestiges of wildness in our nation. Call President Clinton, 202-456-1414 or call Vice President Gore, 202-456-2326.

Around the Region:

Land Sales in Maine: South African Paper and Pulp International (SAPPI) sold 911,000 acres of land to a Seattle based timber company, Plum Creek. The lands include Spencer Lake, Moose River Bow Trip section, Mount Crocker, Abraham, Spaulding and Sugarloaf. Plum Creek is known in the West as an aggressive timber harvester and a seller of prime real estate development. In addition, SAPPI announced that it will offer the State of Maine conservation easements, including a 500 foot wide strip of shoreline along 29 miles of Moosehead Lake and 250 feet buffers on both sides of the Kennebec River’s western outlet for 15 miles. At the end of October, Bowater announced they sold 1 million acres of their land in Maine plus a sawmill for $220 million to J.D. Irving Ltd. (a large family owned Canadian firm). This will make Irving the largest timberland owner in Maine, when combined with the 550,000 acres they already own in the state. Irving uses clearcutting and plantations extensively on some of the lands they own. The remaining Bowater lands can still be bought. Call Vice President Gore to demand that the federal government provide money to assist Maine in protecting some of its finest wildernesses before they are lost to development, 202-456-2326. For more information, contact Eric Antebi at 617-523-0655 ext. 353 or eantebi@amcinfo.org

Herbicide Spraying in Massachusetts: Efforts to stop Mass Highway from spraying herbicides along guardrails in the state led to a moratorium on spraying west of Worcester. However, Mass highway is in the process of developing a five-year Vegetation Management Plan. Early drafts signal an ability to spray within 25 feet of rivers, streams and reservoirs even though regulations to protect rivers and wetlands in the state require a 100-200 foot buffer. Tell Acting Gov. A. Paul Cellucci, State House, room 360, Boston MA 02133 that the herbicide moratorium should become a ban throughout the state highway system. Letters can also be sent to Commissioner Ken Sullivan, MassHighway, 10 Park Plaza, Boston MA, 02116-3973. For more information, contact Hill-town Anti-herbicide Coalition, P.O. Box 183, Ashfield, MA 01330 or via email, kenfires@aol.com

Northern Forest: Join the AMC and the Northern Forest Alliance for the 4^th annual Citizen Conference, The Northern Forest: Pathways to Protection, November 7-8, Craftsbury Common, VT. Join other activists and get up to date information on protecting wildlands, promoting forest stewardship and strengthening local economies. For information, contact Andrea Stander, 802-223-5256 or astander@igc.org

Riparian Trail Workshop: Join the AMC and the Haverhill Conservation Committee for a day of learning and doing. AMC trail staff will teach participants about the optimal ways of protecting wetlands and important areas along rivers when creating trails. Placement, bridging and relocating may be covered. November 7, For more information, contact Peter Donahue 617-523-0655 ext. 314 or via email: pdonahue@amcinfo.org

Ruth Dinerman