National forests worth a lot of green
America’s
national forests, in addition to being a welcome respite from the city
and a popular vacation destination, provide a lot of valuable revenue.
Our
September report, “Worth More Wild: The Value of Roadless National
Forests,” catalogues the many ways that roadless areas, such as those
in the White Mountain National Forest, are worth more than the logs
they could become. The report makes the case for protecting roadless
areas—not only for their natural beauty and intangible benefits, but
for the actual dollar value these places represent. Lodging and
rentals, drinking water and wildlife watching are among the many
revenue-generating activities that annually bring billions of dollars
in revenue to states with roadless areas.
We’re pushing
Maine’s congressional delegation to support a law in Congress that
would permanently protect roadless areas set aside by the Enviornment
Maine-backed Roadless Rule of 2001.
Congress to take up mountaintop removal
In
August, the Bush administration moved to make it easier for the coal
industry to engage in an outrageous, outdated practice known as
“mountaintop removal.”
In West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio and
other states, coal companies literally blast the tops off of mountains
in order to get at seams of coal, dumping the debris into nearby lakes
and streams. The administration’s rule change would make it far more
difficult to challenge mountaintop removal in court under the Clean
Water Act.
Many Environment Maine members objected to the plans.
We’re lobbying members of Congress to overturn the rule change. So far,
Rep. Tom Allen (Portland) has joined 107 other members of Congress in
agreeing to co-sponsor the measure.
The effects of mountaintop removal mining nearing Whitesville, W. Va.
