In a message dated 02/16/2000 10:10:19 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: << From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Clinton Eyes Sequoia Protection By H.JOSEF HEBERT Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- Seeking to protect forever California's remaining giant sequoia redwoods, President Clinton is considering setting aside as much as 400,000 acres of federal forests in central California as a protected monument. The president asked Agriculture Secretary Daniel Glickman on Tuesday to explore the idea of using the 1906 Antiquities Act to protect the giant trees and report back to him within 60 days. ``I want to ensure that these majestic cathedral groves ... are protected for future generations to study and enjoy,'' Clinton wrote the agriculture secretary, whose department controls much of the land on which the last of the giant redwoods stand. Environmentalists for years have campaigned to impose greater protection to the sequoia trees -- about 70 groves in all -- that are located in Kings Canyon, Sequoia and Yosemite national parks and nearby Sequoia National Forest and other government land in the Sierra Mountains of central California. While about a third of the groves are protected within the national park systems, the rest -- except for one privately owned grove -- are in the national forest or other government land and they could be endangered by future logging or other development. Environmentalists fear that while the trees themselves are forbidden to be cut, nearby logging could threaten their long-term existence. The president's action ``is a recognition that there is a major gap in the protection of this very, very important and majestic species. That gap needs to be filled,'' George Frampton, chairman of the president's Council on Environmental Quality, said in an interview. The sequoia redwoods -- not as tall as the California redwoods, but with massive trucks as much as 100 feet wide at the base -- are among the oldest living things on earth. Many of the remaining trees are several thousand years old. They once were scattered across much of the Northern Hemisphere, but now grow only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in central California. Frampton said the intent would be to protect 330,000 to 440,000 acres of land as a national monument, or about a third of the Sequoia National Forest, to ensure permanent protection of the ecosystem that surrounds the giant trees. He said the monument designation would protect 70 remaining groves, including 35 groves in the Sequoia National Forest, as well as 25 groves in the nearby national parks and the rest on other federal land. ``It's a fabulous thing,'' said Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope. ``These trees are very vulnerable to any kind of disruption. This is an incredible big gain for everybody.'' ``Creation of (such a monument) would be a world class gift to the American people,'' said Nathaniel Lawrence, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. He called it ``a world class gift to the American people'' and said ``this swath of sequoia country should have been permanently protected long ago.'' Clinton has used the Antiquities Act before to carve out land for special protection, each time meeting strong criticism from some western lawmakers and local officials. Last month, Clinton used the backdrop of the Grand Canyon to announce the designation of a million acres of cliffs, desert and scenic areas adjacent to the canyon as the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument. He also extended monument protection to 71,000 acres of American Indian ruins north of Phoenix and to hundreds small islands up and down the California coast. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt has a list of about a dozen more contenders for monument status. Three years ago, Clinton raised a firestorm when he used the 1906 law to establish the 1.9 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument in southern Utah. Some Utah officials called it a federal ``land grab.'' The 1906 law allows presidents, without congressional approval, to safeguard objects of historic and scientific interest. President Theodore Roosevelt used it to set aside the Grand Canyon in 1908 and President Carter invoked it to establish large sections of Alaska wilderness in the 1970s. Over the years, only Presidents Nixon, Reagan and Bush declined to use the law. >>
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Clinton Eyes Sequoia Protection By H.JOSEF HEBERT Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- Seeking to protect forever California's remaining giant sequoia redwoods, President Clinton is considering setting aside as much as 400,000 acres of federal forests in central California as a protected monument. The president asked Agriculture Secretary Daniel Glickman on Tuesday to explore the idea of using the 1906 Antiquities Act to protect the giant trees and report back to him within 60 days. ``I want to ensure that these majestic cathedral groves ... are protected for future generations to study and enjoy,'' Clinton wrote the agriculture secretary, whose department controls much of the land on which the last of the giant redwoods stand. Environmentalists for years have campaigned to impose greater protection to the sequoia trees -- about 70 groves in all -- that are located in Kings Canyon, Sequoia and Yosemite national parks and nearby Sequoia National Forest and other government land in the Sierra Mountains of central California. While about a third of the groves are protected within the national park systems, the rest -- except for one privately owned grove -- are in the national forest or other government land and they could be endangered by future logging or other development. Environmentalists fear that while the trees themselves are forbidden to be cut, nearby logging could threaten their long-term existence. The president's action ``is a recognition that there is a major gap in the protection of this very, very important and majestic species. That gap needs to be filled,'' George Frampton, chairman of the president's Council on Environmental Quality, said in an interview. The sequoia redwoods -- not as tall as the California redwoods, but with massive trucks as much as 100 feet wide at the base -- are among the oldest living things on earth. Many of the remaining trees are several thousand years old. They once were scattered across much of the Northern Hemisphere, but now grow only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in central California. Frampton said the intent would be to protect 330,000 to 440,000 acres of land as a national monument, or about a third of the Sequoia National Forest, to ensure permanent protection of the ecosystem that surrounds the giant trees. He said the monument designation would protect 70 remaining groves, including 35 groves in the Sequoia National Forest, as well as 25 groves in the nearby national parks and the rest on other federal land. ``It's a fabulous thing,'' said Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope. ``These trees are very vulnerable to any kind of disruption. This is an incredible big gain for everybody.'' ``Creation of (such a monument) would be a world class gift to the American people,'' said Nathaniel Lawrence, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. He called it ``a world class gift to the American people'' and said ``this swath of sequoia country should have been permanently protected long ago.'' Clinton has used the Antiquities Act before to carve out land for special protection, each time meeting strong criticism from some western lawmakers and local officials. Last month, Clinton used the backdrop of the Grand Canyon to announce the designation of a million acres of cliffs, desert and scenic areas adjacent to the canyon as the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument. He also extended monument protection to 71,000 acres of American Indian ruins north of Phoenix and to hundreds small islands up and down the California coast. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt has a list of about a dozen more contenders for monument status. Three years ago, Clinton raised a firestorm when he used the 1906 law to establish the 1.9 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument in southern Utah. Some Utah officials called it a federal ``land grab.'' The 1906 law allows presidents, without congressional approval, to safeguard objects of historic and scientific interest. President Theodore Roosevelt used it to set aside the Grand Canyon in 1908 and President Carter invoked it to establish large sections of Alaska wilderness in the 1970s. Over the years, only Presidents Nixon, Reagan and Bush declined to use the law. --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- FREE ADVICE FROM REAL PEOPLE! Xpertsite has thousands of experts who are willing to answer your questions for FREE. Go to Xpertsite today and put your mind to rest. <a href=" http://clickme.onelist.com/ad/XpersiteCPC ">Click Here</a> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Moderator: Jimmy Boy Dial http://www.thespike.com Community email addresses: Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Shortcut URL to this page: http://www.onelist.com/community/The_Spike
