[Imc-radio] headline 2

[Sarah Lazare]

Via the Chicago Indymedia Center:
True to form, the Bush administration picked the run-up to a major holiday 
to announce a radical change in environmental policy. This time the holiday 
was Christmas, and the issue was national forest management policy.

The stated goal of the change is to increase efficiency and give more 
decision-making power to local and regional forest managers when creating 
15-year plans for managing the nation's forests. The changes will make it 
easier for these forest managers to decide whether to allow more logging, 
drilling or off-road vehicle use in the nation's 155 national forests and 
grasslands.

However, environmentalists say the changes will lead to greatly reduced 
protections for all species who live in the forests and will cut back on 
opportunities for public comment. Although the rules are effective Dec. 
31st, environmental groups are gearing up to challenge them.

For more information, call Earthjustice at (202) 667-4500 or visit their web 
site at www.earthjustice.org