November 10th, 2006

Bark's 2006 Post Election Review

Dear Barkers,

After six years of attacks on the laws that protect our forests, voters on Tuesday gave the nation a clear message, “Enough is enough!” The election results mean big changes for Mt. Hood National Forest. Want to know how? Please read Bark’s Election Review below and then join us for our Bark-About on Sunday to see first hand how politics can make or break the future of our forests.

Sincerely,
Alex P. Brown, Executive Director

Bark’s 2006 Post-Election Review

Your guide to key election results that impact the future of our forests

Local

As the saying goes, all politics are local. There is no better example than the race for Clackamas County Commissioner.

KEY RACE: Larry Sowa has been on the commission since 1998. He has opposed all efforts to remove any of the nearly 2,000 miles of Forest Service roads in the Clackamas River watershed that are degrading water quality and harming wildlife. His challenger, Democrat Lynn Peterson, supported protections for the Clackamas watershed as a city councilor for the city of Lake Oswego. Voters spoke loud and clear on Tuesday and elected Lynn Peterson to the Clackamas County Commission.

KEY CHANGES: Clackamas County has a three-person commission. Lynn Peterson’s election gives Clackamas their first pro-environment majority in decades. For years Bark has fought to stop old-growth logging in the Clackamas watershed and restore the thousands of clearcuts that scar the forest. Unfortunately the Forest Service continues to propose commercial logging in the forests of the Clackamas, even increasing the logging planned next year by 50%! Mt. Hood deserves better. Bark will continue to fight to protect the Clackamas watershed and prioritize world-class recreation, clean water, and wildlife habitat over logging and road building. The election of Lynn Peterson makes it possible!


National

The House of Representatives (and by the time you receive this email, hopefully the Senate, too) has gone Democratic. Gaining 29 seats that were previously Republican, Democrats now have a firm check on the anti-environmental direction of President Bush.


KEY RACE: Representative Richard Pombo (R-CA) was defeated by challenger Jerry McNerney, a Democrat. Pombo has long been considered the most anti-environmental radical right winger in congress. As the Chair of the House Committee on Resources he has been forwarding his personal agenda to revoke the Endangered Species Act and enforced a six-point screen on any proposals for new Wilderness protections, including on Mt. Hood. These screens have resulted in very few Wilderness bills making it to the floor of congress. The bills that have made it often include quid-pro-quo language similar to the Mt. Hood Wilderness bill’s mandate for more logging. Jerry McNerney is the CEO of a company that produces wind-energy turbines and has committed to providing a stronger voice for the environment.

KEY CHANGES: Democrats will take over committees. Much of what makes it to the floor of the House for a vote must first go through a committee. This means that while the House may support a particular bill (a Wilderness bill for example) Pombo as the chair of the Resources Committee can keep it from making it to the House for a vote. Pombo will now be replaced by Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.VA) as the new chair of the House Committee on Resources and Rep. Walden (R-OR) (second only to Pombo in his anti-environmental record) will be replaced by Rep. Thomas Udall (D-NM) as the new chair of the House Subcommittee on Forests. Over the past six years the Forest Service has removed requirements for analyzing the environmental impacts of logging and restricted public participation in the management of our public forests. See our October Bark-Alert for details. Congress will now have the opportunity to reverse such attacks on forests.