E-M:/ Alert...Timber Sale near Porcupine Mtns., Ottawa National Forest

[asagady@sojourn.com]

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Enviro-Mich message from asagady@sojourn.com
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Forwarded item from an Enviro-Mich non-registrant....


Date: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 14:32:10 -0500
x-mailer: Claris Emailer 2.0v3, January 22, 1998
From: "Henry W. Peters" <hwpeters@up.net>
To: "enviro-mich" <enviro-mich@great-lakes.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE------------------->>>>

This is an forwarded ALERT regarding the U.S. Forest Service, Old M-64 
timber sale on the Ottawa National Forest.   This area is just south of 
Lake Superior near the Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park which is 
located in the very western portion of the upper peninsula of Michigan.

During wartime America (1940s) Aldo Leopold helped to save the Porcupine 
Mountain Wilderness State Park:   In 1942 he wrote and published an 
influential article admonishing American Citizens to awake to the 
importance of this area of which the Trap Hills is a contiguous and 
important portion thereof :   "The Last Stand" it, the article was 
called.  This essay published recently in University of Wisconsin Press 
book: "The River of the Mother of God", a series of developmental essays 
by Aldo Leopold.

Thanks for your help.  Please disregard the below mentioned deadline.  
This addressed more, the time line for public comments to be submitted 
regarding the Forest Service Long Term Road less Area Protection Policy 
which was March 30, 1998.  We need your cards & letters & phone calls to 
continue to pour forth!

Henry Peters
Citizen Public Lands
Rt. 1, Box 193
Ewen, MI 49925
(906) 988-2352
e-mail:  hwpeters@up.net
'Your Lands, Our Planet !"
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Friends of the Ottawa:

I've sent this Action Alert previously.  If you haven't written, we're 
down
to the wire.  Congressman Dale Kildee will be contacting Phyllis Green the
Ottawa Forest Supervisor today.  The deadline is March 30.

A phone call to Phyllis Green at the Ottawa National Forest would help!
The phone # is (906) 932-1330.

I can be reached by Email or phone (906)225-1938 if you have any 
questions.

doug cornett


ACTION ALERT!

Northwoods Wilderness Recovery, Inc.
P.O. Box 122
Marquette, MI 49855
(906) 225-1938
E-mail drcornet@up.net

February 25, 1998

Dear Friend of the Ottawa National Forest:

We need your help.

On August 1, 1997, conservation groups, Northwoods Wilderness Recovery 
(MI) and Federal Land Action Group  (NH), and nationally acclaimed poets, 
Antler and Jeff Poniewaz (WI), appealed the Old M-64 Hardwoods Timber 
Sale.  Henry Peters, a citizen and neighbor of the Ottawa, also filed a
separate appeal.  This timber sale, in the biologically diverse Trap 
Hills, is located 7 miles southeast of the Porcupine Mountains.  The Trap 
Hills and Ontonagon River watershed is named as a Special Area in the Act 
to Save America's Forests (H.R. 1376 and S. 977) which was recently 
introduced into the US Congress.  Special areas, including the Trap Hills 
and Ontonagon River, will be off-limits to National Forest logging and 
road-building, upon passage of the bill.

The Old M-64 Hardwoods Timber Sale contains the largest, 
unprotected,old-growth forest tract left in the Ottawa National Forest.  
The Trap Hills provide habitat for a number of Threatened, Endangered, 
sensitive and rare plants and animals including Peregrine Falcon, 
Northern Goshawk, Red-shouldered
Hawk, Wood Turtle, Fairy Bells, Braun's Holly Fern, Male Fern and Prairie 
Buttercup.  The North Country Trail and the Gogebic Ridge Trail traverse 
the area.  The Trap Hills was also a release site for the Peregrine 
Falcon, which began in 1988 and continued until 1990.  Peregrines have 
returned each year and have successfully nested three times since 1990.

Continued logging and road-building in the Trap Hills and Old M-64 
Hardwoods sale will sorely compromise the biological integrity of the 
area.  Providing low-impact recreational opportunities and habitat for 
Threatened and  Endangered Species, is the best alternative for the Trap 
Hills.
Preservation is not a "lock-up" of needed resources.  Preservation 
provides opportunities for alternatives, such as recreation and 
scientific study, which foster the diversification of local economies and 
lessen dependency on "boom or bust" logging.

On September 13, 1997, Robert Jacobs, the Regional Forester, denied our 
appeal.   Despite the uniqueness of  the Trap Hills -- its semi-primitive 
designation and remoteness; its rare plants and animals; and its 
recreational values.  

The Forest Service received over forty letters of support for our Appeal. 
These letters were  from individuals and organizations, across the US.  
The Forest Service ignored these letters.  

In denying our appeal, the Forest Service decided to follow its 
all-too-familiar agenda.  Mine, road, and log our  public lands -- at the 
taxpayers expense!

The Old M-64 Hardwoods Timber Sale and Trap Hills are yet another 
National Forest "sacrifice zone."

Litigation of this sale is the only remedy left.

Unless the Ottawa's Forest Supervisor and the Forest Service Chief, 
decide that the Trap Hills and Old M-64  Hardwoods Timber Sale has 
roadless area qualities that qualify it for protection under a new 
Presidential  Executive Order.

The Executive Order will temporarily suspend road construction in 
roadless areas for the next 18 months, while  further assessments are 
made. We ask that you take a few minutes and write a letter of support 
for including the Trap Hills in the Road less Area Moratorium.  Please 
send your letters to:

Phyllis Green
Forest Supervisor
Ottawa National Forest 
E 6248 US 2
Ironwood, MI 49938

Send a copy of your letter to:

Mike Dombeck, Chief
USDA Forest Service
MAIL STOP 1104
P. O. Box 96090
Washington, DC 20090-6090

Comments also may be sent to the Chief via the Internet to:
roads/wo@fs.fed.us.

Tell the Forest Service that you want the Trap Hills and the Old M-64 
Hardwoods Timber Sale included in the Road less Area Road-building 
Moratorium.  Use the information above and your personal experiences to 
tell the Forest Service why the Trap Hills are important to you.  The 
deadline for
comments is March 30, 1998.

Your financial support will help Northwoods Wilderness Recovery continue 
our efforts in the Trap Hills and strengthen grassroots organizing for 
forest protection in Michigan.  Please join us in preserving Ottawa 
National Forest Wild Lands and what's left of our old-growth forests.

For the Wild!


Douglas Cornett
Northwoods Wilderness Recovery







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