ARNOLD PLEDGES TO SAVE TREES GOVERNOR SAYS CALIFORNIA'S ROADLESS AREAS WILL BE SAFE FROM BUSH POLICY.Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): [ˈaɐ̯nɔlt ˈaloɪ̯s ˈʃvaɐ̯ʦənˌʔɛɡɐ] vowed Thursday that the Bush administration's attempt to open a third of national forests to logging, mining and development will not diminish protections for California's remote forestlands. Announcing an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service to protect about 4.4 million California acres left vulnerable to construction under the new Bush administration rules, Schwarzenegger said those largely undeveloped areas will remain untouched. ``I am committed to protecting the vibrant health and sustainable future of our forests,'' Schwarzenegger said in a statement. ``Roadless areas in California will remain roadless.'' Schwarzenegger's announcement came as the Bush administration completed the reversal of a Clinton-era environmental policy. The new rules effectively end automatic protections for 58.5 million acres of national forestland for·est·land n. A section of land covered with forest or set aside for the cultivation of forests. , including nearly 1 million combined acres in the Angeles, Los Padres
Not to be confused with San Diego Padres. and San Bernardino national forests San Bernardino National Forest has two main divisions which are the San Bernardino Mountains on the easternmost of the Transverse Range, and the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains on the northernmost of the Peninsular Range. . Under the new rules, governors have 18 months to submit petitions to either stop or allow road building and other construction on land where it will now be permitted. Schwarzenegger's announcement cheered up several California environmental activists, who said they had doubted the governor would protect national forestland in the state. Activists said that without Schwarzenegger's protection, Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a forest located in southern and central California, which includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Monterey, extending inland. Elevations range from sea level to 8,831 feet. could be vulnerable to oil or gas drilling, estimating about 100,000 roadless acres in the forest have oil and gas reserve potential. Meanwhile, land management plans for the Los Padres, Angeles and San Bernardino national forests are all being revised, which might have had new implications for undeveloped acres. ``I'm very happy to hear that Governor Schwarzenegger intends to keep roadless areas roadless in California,'' said Don Bremmer, a volunteer Sierra Club Sierra Club, national organization in the United States dedicated to the preservation and expansion of the world's parks, wildlife, and wilderness areas. Founded (1892) in California by a group led by the Scottish-American conservationist John Muir, the Sierra Club activist in the Angeles chapter. Ryan Henson, policy director for the California Wilderness Coalition, called the governor's announcement ``unexpected'' and said he was pleasantly surprised. Others, however, questioned Schwarzenegger's ability to withstand pressure from logging and mining interests. State Assemblyman as·sem·bly·man n. A man who is a member of a legislative assembly. assemblyman Noun pl -men a member of a legislative assembly Noun 1. Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, introduced legislation Thursday that would require the governor to consult the state Legislature A state legislature may refer to a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. The following legislatures exist in the following political subdivisions: All parties that have an interest, financial or otherwise, in a firm-stockholders, creditors, bondholders, employees, customers, management, the community, and the government. before making any decisions about California's 4.4 million roadless acres. Levine's spokeswoman Crystal Strait said Schwarzenegger's endorsement of the bill would show that his pledge is more than just words. ``Unfortunately, this is one of those things where only time will tell,'' she said of Schwarzenegger's forest assurances, adding, ``He also made a commitment to education last year and we all saw what happened to that.'' Lisa Friedman, (202) 662-8731 lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com |
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