PROTECTING OUR PARKS

Rahall Amendment to Protect Wild Bison in Yellowstone National Park: In March 2003, 231 buffalo were captured within Yellowstone, by park rangers, and shipped off to slaughterhouses. The Park Service has also supported the Montana Department of Livestock in the hazing and killing of hundreds more over the past few years. The slaughter is being carried out, at public expense, because some buffalo may have a disease that can be detrimental to cattle. The fear is that the disease will be spread from buffalo to cattle even though there has never been a recorded transmission of this kind in the wild. This amendment will stop the federal funding for killing buffalo for one year. The amendment will require the National Park Service to use non-lethal methods for managing the needs of both buffalo and cattle in the Yellowstone area.

Holt-Rahall-Shays Amendment to Protect Yellowstone National Park: Congress created Yellowstone National Park to preserve the wilderness quality of a magnificent landscape that features the world-famous geyser Old Faithful and is home to bison, bears, wolves, and variety of other wildlife. Over two years ago, the National Park Service decided to phase out snowmobile use in the park, and in neighboring Grand Teton National Park, because it found snowmobile use was threatening the parks' wildlife, air, and visitors and employee health. It offered visitors the opportunity to access the park via multi-passenger snowcoaches, or by ski or snowshoe. However, the Interior Department intends to undo the Park Service's original plan and let snowmobile use continue, and even increase. This amendment would reduce air pollution and engine noise and protect human health and sensitive wildlife by phasing out snowmobile use according to the National Park Service Plan.

PROTECTING NATIONAL FOREST ROADLESS AREAS

In January 2001, following years of discussion and unprecedented public input, the U.S. Forest Service issued the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. This rule protects the last 58.5 million acres of pristine roadless areas of our National Forests from most logging and road building. The Roadless Area Conservation Rule: protects 58.5 million acres of National Forest land stretching over 39 states, including 9.3 million acres of Alaska's Tongass National Forest; provides critical habitat for fish and wildlife, including more than 1600 threatened, endangered, or sensitive species; safeguards the cleanest sources of drinking water for millions of Americans; and contains important exceptions for public health and safety and emergencies, such as fighting wildfires.

America's Rainforest at Risk -- National Treasures in Jeopardy

The Bush administration announced massive changes to the rule that include an agreement made with the state of Alaska to voluntarily dismiss a case against the U.S. Department of Agriculture over the implementation of the roadless rule. The agreement made by the U.S. Government with the state of Alaska would exempt Alaska's Tongass and Chugach National Forest from the rule. The Tongass is North America's largest coastal temperate rainforest and together with the Chugach forest is home to one-fourth of all inventoried roadless areas. The administration also announced plans to weaken the rule by allowing state governors to opt out through a petitioning process. The final rule including changes to the lower 48 is expected to be announced this fall, with the Alaska exemptions included. The sponsors of legislation to protect roadless areas via the Roadless Areas Conservation Act, Representatives Jay Inslee (D-WA) and Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) are considering offering an amendment to the FY 2004 Interior spending bill to prevent the administration from gutting the roadless rule.

PRESERVING OUR WILDLANDS AND WILDLIFE

Blumenauer-Thompson-Shays Amendment to Protect Wildlife Refuges:

The Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges, which harbor much of what remains of the area's wetlands, suffer from too little water and terrible water quality. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, most of the wetlands in Lower Klamath, Upper Klamath and Tule Lake Refuges will go dry in at least half of all future years under the Interior Department's current water regime. Once abundant Klamath salmon runs have now been reduced to less than 10% of their historic size. Last fall, more than 30,000 salmon died in the Klamath River. Additionally, more than 20,000 acres of the Lower Klamath and Tule Lake Refuges are leased to farmers purely for commercial purposes. Commercial farms on the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges have received full water deliveries even as refuge marshes go dry from lack of water. The crops also use a wide variety of highly toxic pesticides that threaten fish and wildlife. The Blumenauer-Thompson-Shays Amendment would take an important step towards balance in the Klamath Basin by phasing out those crops grown on the Basin's National Wildlife Refuges that consume the most water, use the most pesticides and provide little, if any, benefit to wildlife. Specifically, new farming lease agreements on the national wildlife refuges that replace leases that expire next year would not allow growing of onions, potatoes, horseradish, or alfalfa.