NATIONAL NEWS
January 5, 2001
Protecting America’s Forests
President Clinton announces huge forest preservation plan
 Tongass National Forest in Alaska is the nation's largest forest. |
Nearly one third of America’s federal forest land may soon be off limits to loggers and road building. With just two weeks to go before his presidential term is complete, President Clinton has announced a plan that will preserve 60 million acres of forest land in 38 states. Environmental activists are celebrating the plan but forest industry officials are worried. Many are concerned about the loggers and miners who will lose their jobs because of the logging cutbacks.
What’s the Plan?
Under the plan (which was first announced in November), the Forest Service will ban road building in 58.5 million acres of federal forests where no roads currently exist. That includes 9.3 million acres in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. Much of the roadless federal forests that will be protected by the plan are in Alaska, Idaho and Montana. Smaller sections of forest land are scattered across Florida, Virginia and New Hampshire.
 |  A lumberjack cuts logs in Boise National Forest, Idaho. Opponents of Clinton's plan worry it will harm logging jobs. |
Protecting Tomorrow’s Forests
In recent months, President Clinton has named a number of new national monuments to further protect federal lands. But this forest protection plan may be the largest environmental protection plan of Clinton’s presidency. "(The plan) restores balance to our national forests and ensures strong protection of these extraordinary lands for future generations," White House spokesman Elliott Diringer said.
Harming Jobs in the Forests
Forest industry officials are worried about what the plan will do to the 1,300 logging and mining jobs in the forests. They are also concerned that without logging, roadless forests are more likely to be harmed by wildfires. Some Republican lawmakers are already asking President-elect George W. Bush to work with Congress to scale back the forest protection plan. Bush will be sworn in as our nation’s 43rd President on January 20.
Even though some lawmakers from western states are against the plan, Clinton is determined to complete it before he leaves office. The plan "has huge public support" said Kenneth Rait of the Heritage Forest Campaign, an Oregon-based environmental group. It is expected to take effect this February if Congress does not vote it down.
