Current Shareware 1994 January/SHAR194.ISO/textfile/nwf_wuse.zip/NWF-WUSE.TXT

Text File | 1993-09-08 | 12KB | 228 lines

NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION, 1400 Sixteenth Street, N.W.
                              Washington, D.C. 20036-2236 [phone]
____________________________________________________________________________
                          Office of the President

                             September 10, 1992

Dear Representative:

You may recall that last September a number of individuals associated with
anti-environment organizations stopped by your office, purporting to favor
the "wise use" of our nations natural resources.  Their so-called "Fly-In
For Freedom" featured lobbying visits by those opposed to protecting our
dwindling ancient forests, wetlands, endangered species and public land.

These groups are back again, and may be visiting your office during the week
of September 14.  I hope you will take the time to familiarize yourself
with the information in this packet, information which explains the true
nature of these organizations' anti-environment agenda, and outlines the
national Wildlife Federation's perspective on these issues.

As you are aware, the commitment of American's to protecting the environment
is at an all-time high, even in these times of economic uncertainty.  In
fact, the July poll by the Wirthlin group found that 80% of the respondents
agreed that "Protecting the environment is so important that requirements
and standards cannot be too high, and continuing environmental improvements
must be made regardless of cost".  Unfortunately, the anti-environment
groups are seeking to exploit the concerns we all share about our nation's
health by portraying a false dichotomy between jobs and environmental
protection.

I hope you find the information in this packet useful.

                                        Sincerely,

                                        [hand-written sig.] Jay D. Hair



-----------------[and on to the packet contents below...]-----------------

                             The Wise Disguise:
             Green Storefronts of the Anti-Environment Campaign


        "To people in the industry, I'm going to do my best for you.
                Environmentalists -- I'm coming to get you."

                                    -Ron Arnold, anti-environment campaign
                                     organizer in "Network Earth" interview

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who is behind the Wise Disguise?

The National Wetlands Coalition, National Endangered Species Reform
Coalition, People for the West!, American Resource Alliance, and American
Council on Science and Health sound like the earth-friendly names of
America's conservation organizations.  But when their green masks are
removed, these groups represent the front line of the new environmental
destruction coalition whose mission it is to reverse the environmental
protections gained the last two decades, and to ensure the unbridled
exploitation of natural resources on public and private lands for the
financial benefit of a few.

They have labeled themselves the "wise use movement," but it is important to
recognize them for what they are.  THis is an anti-environment, anti-people,
anti-wildlife campaign that is perpetuated by industry-funded, politically
motivated, untraconservative ideologues.

The drive behind the special interest campaigns begins and ends with money.
American taxpayers pay over $800 million in subsidies every year so that
industries and a few wealthy individuals can log, graze, and mine our public
lands.  The environmental costs of these activities are more difficult to
measure, with damage ranging from eroded soils and disappearing wetlands, to
polluted waters and species extinction.

Meanwhile, resource extraction industries predict doom and gloom for jobs
and national economy if more environmental protections are not sacrificed
for private profit.  But the reality is that, while the few get rich
exploiting the publics resources, their insatiable abuse and degradation of
these finite resources will continue to lead to job loss, a weaker economy,
and diminished protection for public health and safety.  In fact, if this
campaign were to succeed, the U.S. would become to resemble the nations of
the former Eastern Block, where environmental protection was nonexistent and
the result was a holocaust of nature -- unbreathable air, undrinkable water,
and scarce resources left to rebuild devastated economies.  What motivates
the environmental destruction campaign is easily explained by its list of
funders:  Exxon, Ciba-Geigy Corp., E.I. Dupont De Nemours, Nerco Minerals,
Bond Gold Corporation, Kawasaki, and a myriad of other corporations who
stand to gain millions of dollars from the exploitation of public lands.
Essentially, this is the old wolf but in new sheep's clothing.

Ron Arnold an Alan Gottleib are two of the most vocal leaders of the
anti-environment coalition.  Gottleib, a professional fund raiser, was
convicted in 1984 of a felony for filing false tax returns.  Ron Arnold is
the executive vice president for the Center for the Defense of Free
Enterprise CDFE), found by the Canadian Parliament to have links to the
Unification Church of Rev. Sun Myung Moon.  The Canadian report claims that
the Washington-based CDFE shares office space and directors with the
American Freedom Coalition, an alleged front for the "Moonies."

The Unwise Agenda

The superficial rhetoric -- to protect private property rights, boost the
economy and save jobs -- sounds appealing.  But the anti-environmentalists'
agenda exposes a vision for the planet that would be unfit for human life.

The blueprint for the environmental destruction campaign dictates that the
nation clear cut all old-growth forests; open all public lands, including
national parks, to mining and oil extraction; and erase all environmental
regulations that protect public health and safety.

The planet according to anti-environment leaders would look like barren
moonscape, without the forests that are our national medicine chest, without
countless species that support fishing industries, and without clean air to
breathe or clean water to drink.  This vision of the future would include
mining pits in Yellowstone Park, oil rigs in the Grand Canyon and ozone
depletion over North America.

These abusers of natural resources often trumpet their goal of enhanced
private property rights as fundamental to the U. S. Constitution.  But in
their scheme, individual property owners would have to be compensated by
taxpayers not to flood neighboring land or contaminate their communities'
drinking water supply if avoiding that harm to fellow property owners meant
forgoing a profit.

The Environmental Destruction Lobby

Anti-environmental lobbyists have turned up many allies in Congress and
within the Bush Administration.  Leading federal and state officials have
attended meetings and conferences called by the leaders of the
anti-environment campaign, and have publicly offered support for their
efforts.  The coalition claims the following victories:

o   The national Cattleman's Association and the American Farm Bureau last
    year blocked legislation that would have reformed the grazing program by
    increasing grazing fees on public lands to fair market value.

o   The National Wetlands Coalition, a front for oil and gas interests and
    developers, helped weaken the definition of wetlands that emerged from
    the Quayle Competitiveness Council.

o   The American Forest Resource Alliance and other timber-sponsored groups
    helped stall federal action to protect the spotted owl and ancient
    forests.

o   The anti-environment coalition influenced the revision of regulations
    emerging from the Interior and Agriculture departments that will reduce
    or eliminate public involvement in decisions such as timber sales on the
    public lands.

Coalition in the Courtrooms

The anti-environment coalition has masterminded the strategy behind two
important court cases -- one that has gone to the court of Claims and the
other to the U. S. Supreme Court.

According to federal reports, one-quarter of U.S. Forest Service rangelands
is in declining condition.  Of the Bureau of Land management rangelands
where cattle graze, two-thirds of 170 million acres are currently in
unsatisfactory condition.  In the first court case, Wayne Hage, a cattle
rancher associated with Ron Arnold's group, operated a 7,000 acre ranch in
Nevada and had tax-payer subsidized grazing permits for a whopping 752,000
acres of public lands.  In return, he paid the U.S. government less than $2
per month for each cow and calf grazed on the land, while the real market
value cost is $4.68.  Last year, after the U.S. Forest Service had
repeatedly charged Hage with violations of his permit terms, the agency was
forced to confiscate 73 head of cattle to protect an environmentally
sensitive area.  Hage's lawsuit, claiming that the agency destroyed the
economic value of his ranch, asks the government to pay for a "taking" under
the Fifth Amendment amounting to $28 million at the taxpayers' expense.

In the second case, developer David Lucas proposed building two houses on a
barrier beach in South Carolina.  The beach protects inland property by
preventing flooding, absorbing the shock of hurricanes and storm surges, and
shielding inland property from erosion.  Denied a wetlands permit to build,
Lucas sued the state of South Carolina, claiming that denying him the
economic value of his property constitutes a "taking."  With support from the
environmental exploitation lobby, Lucas appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court,
which rejected his extreme claim that no matter what the impacts, property
owners should be compensated by the government for not creating nuisances
that damage their neighbors' property and the environment.

Confronting the Environmental Destruction campaign

Across the nation, grassroots and national environmental organizations are
exposing the dangers that the environmental exploitation campaign's agenda
poses for natural resources and the environment.

The National Wildlife Federation and other national environmental groups are
warning the public and government officials about this environmental
destruction campaign that jeopardizes citizen's rights to a safe, healthy
environment.

Founded in 1936, the Federation, it's 5.3 million members and supporters,
and 51 affiliated organizations, work to educate individuals and
organizations to conserve natural resources, to protect the environment, and
to build a globally sustainable future.


                  PARTIAL LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS ASSOCIATED
                     WITH THE ANTI-ENVIRONMENT CAMPAIGN

Alliance for America                American Council on Science & Health
American Farm Bureau Federation     American Freedom Coalition
American Forest Council             American Forest Resource Alliance
American Mining Congress            American Motorcycle Association
American Sheep Industry             Barry Goldwater Foundation
Blue Ribbon Coalition               Center for Defense of Free Enterprise
Center for Individual Rights        Cato Institute
Competitive Enterprise Institute    Environmental Conservation Organization
Fraser Institute                    Heritage Foundation
Indep Petroleum Assoc of Amer.      Institute of Economic Affairs
Institute Euro 92                    Institute of Political Economy
James Madison Institute             National Cattlemen's Association
Nat. Endangered Species Coalition   National Forest Products Association
National Inholders Association      National Rifle Association
National Wetlands Coalition         National Wilderness Institute
Pacific Research Institute          People for the West!
Reason Foundation