NEWS: San Francisco - Judge Saves the Trees!

Who remembers reading Dr.Seuss' book, The Lorax (one of my all time favorites)? The copyright for that great story is 1971, and it's still relevant today. Politicians are still running around (like the Once-ler!) trying to chop down our trees. Luckily there are a few Loraxes around to help put a stop to it!

A federal judge here in Northern CA reinstated the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. It was designed during Clinton's presidency to protect millions of acres of wild forests from logging, roads, and oil exploration.

This is important to us here in the Bay Area because the world's tallest tree, which is the Hyperion at 378 feet, is located right in our Redwood Forest. How lucky are we?!!!

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Hyperion and the other giants are quite lucky to still be standing after the last few decades and especially the last few years: "Redwood experts say the discovery is a bit surprising considering that so much of the state's redwood forests have been logged…the trees were protected less than 30 years ago by an expansion of the national park's boundary."

Here's a statement from Carl Pope, Sierra Club Executive Director, that was sent in a press release:

"Today marks a huge victory for America’s last remaining wild forests and the millions of Americans who have spoken out in support of protecting these special places for future generations. These are increasingly scarce unspoiled places that provide some of the highest quality fish and wildlife habitat, backcountry recreation and clean water supplies in the country.

"The Bush administration replaced the original rule with a policy that left wild forests across the country vulnerable to destructive oil and gas development, commercial logging and road building. The administration has already moved forward with timber sales in roadless areas in Alaska, New Hampshire, and Oregon.

"From policies that prioritize logging over community fire protection to proposals that sell-off National Forests, the Bush administration has worked to weaken or eliminate the core protections for America’s wild forests. They have put the interests of the timber industry ahead of the clean water, recreational opportunities, economic benefits and wildlife habitat that these forests provide the country."

*The Sierra Club was one of the many environmental groups represented by Earthjustice in this lawsuit. For a copy of the judge’s ruling, please call (415) 977-5619 or email annie.strickler@sierraclub.org

The Sierra Club is headquartered in San Francisco, here is their website if you would like to get involved in all that they do: www.sierraclub.org

~Arcadia

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