Staying green

Plan shows power of grassroots activism

National forests are some of the last undeveloped areas in the United States. A new Clinton administration plan, aimed at the protection of these pristine environments, indicates a growing national concern for natural resource preservation. After finalization (anticipated for mid-December), Congress should pass this plan in order to ensure that national forests are protected from unnecessary development by refusing to fund or repair many of the logging roads that lead to clear-cutting. This plan will still allow for sustainable forestry and selective logging to reduce the risk of forest fires.

Opponents of the plan cite that approximately 730 jobs will be lost and lumber available for harvesting will by cut by about seven percent. However, in Tongass National Forest in Alaska, an area in which many people are connected with the logging industry, the plan has allowed a four-year delay in order to allow residents to find new jobs. The environmental benefits far outweigh the disadvantages of the plan - disadvantages of the type that are inevitable whenever new measures are taken to promote conservation.

The Forest Service, as well as the United States Department of Agriculture, has garnered criticism for giving priority to outside companies and neglecting what should be the priority of protecting out national forests in the interest of profit. This plan shows a positive and marked change in the attitude of the Forest Service, which would do well to support more environmental legislation.

The plan was drafted partly in response to the outpouring of public concern, as voiced in 1.6 million letters and faxes, for the welfare of national forests. This indicates that the government has not turned a deaf ear to the public's requests for more stringent environmental protection and shows that Congress is working to tackle issues of national concern that might otherwise go neglected were it not for public action.

This proposition is part of a broader initiative intended to give the public more influence in how national forests are used. The public has overwhelmingly shown that it has a deep concern for the preservation of these pristine environments. Therefore, it is the responsibility of Congress and future presidential administrations to ensure that the voice of the public is heard and more measures are taken with the aim of natural resource conservation in mind.