WVEC Action AlertMarch 23 , 2005Two action alert items below: This is a resolution that opposes the further designation of additional federal wilderness acreage within the Mon National Forest! See below for details of the resolution, background, and why we oppose it. TARGETS: Delegates who have signed on to HR 49 that are NOT lost causes. (See list below.) This alert applies only to activists in the following counties: Subject Line Suggestions Keep the “Mon” Wild – Oppose HCR 49! Last Thursday, a controversial resolution (HCR 49) was introduced in the West Virginia House of Delegates that would oppose wilderness protection for special areas in the Monongahela National Forest. Not only does this resolution fly in the face of the majority of West Virginians who want to keep our last remaining wild country “Wild and Wonderful,” it is also filled with blatant inaccuracies and bogus information about wilderness. We need your help. The delegate from your county has signed on to this misleading resolution. Please ask your delegate to take his/her name off this measure. Already, four delegates have learned about the radical and misleading nature of this resolution and removed their names. TAKE ACTION TODAY! Please call or e-mail your state delegates and respectfully ask them to remove their names from HCR 49. A list of delegates that have signed on to the resolution is below. Let them know that wilderness is simply a way to keep well-loved wild places in the Monongahela National Forest just the way they are, and that HCR 49 would unfairly restrict our ability to conserve West Virginia’s spectacular wild country. In addition, you can let your delegate know that:
Please make your phone call or send your e-mail today, and ask others in your community to do the same. Together, we can protect West Virginia’s spectacular wild country for future generations. If you want to do more to help keep the “Mon” wild, please contact Matt Keller with the West Virginia Wilderness Coalition at mattk@tws.org. For more information about wilderness and HCR 49, please see the end of this message. COSPONSORS OF HCR 49 Please contact the delegate or delegates in your county by phone and/or e-mail. Thank you! BARBOUR COUNTY BACKGROUND – KEEPING WEST VIRGINIA WILD & WONDERFUL Wilderness designation is an important tool for keeping West Virginia’s well-loved natural areas just the way they are. In the face of increasing development in West Virginia, we shouldn’t be limiting our options for protecting our outstanding wild country in the Monongahela National Forest. Wilderness areas on our federal lands provide unparalleled primitive and traditional outdoor recreation opportunities, such as hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, horseback riding, bird watching, whitewater rafting, kayaking, skiing, snowshoeing, and much more. Additionally, protection of our wild areas makes good, plain economic sense. Protecting wild areas on our national forests helps diversify economies by attracting and retaining new businesses, residents, and a local workforce, in addition to generating tourism revenue. According to a new study released this month by researchers at West Virginia University, the tourism and travel industry's role in West Virginia's economy has grown steadily in recent years while the roles of mining and other traditional industries have declined. The Outdoor Industry Foundation estimates nearly 1.4 million West Virginia residents participate in wilderness-related activities each year – that’s more than 77% of the state’s population. West Virginia’s wild and wonderful outdoor areas, including wilderness, are recognized as a recreational hub for the entire mid-Atlantic region, and an additional 25,000,000 people from states surrounding West Virginia also participate in these activities. HCR 49 MAKES BOGUS ANTI-WILDERNESS CLAIMS House Concurrent Resolution 49 introduced in the West Virginia House of Delegates on Thursday, March 17. Among the resolution’s outlandish claims against wilderness protection, it states that “wilderness would diminish the biological diversity of the Monongahela National Forests wildlife habitat types” and wilderness would “deprive West Virginians and the nonresident visiting public of nearly all economically productive uses and reasonable access to recreational opportunities in the Monongahela National Forest.” They've gotta be kidding! Wilderness provides the strongest protection for important forest habitats that conserve fish and wildlife populations.
Read the resolution for yourself by clicking here. Limiting our ability to conserve our wild areas in the Monongahela National Forest by opposing future wilderness designation simply does not make sense. Please call your delegates today and urge them to oppose HCR 49, and keep our options open so that we have an opportunity to keep our Wild and Wonderful West Virginia wild country just the way it is. Urgent Action AlertSave EQB – Oppose HB 2889Please contact members of the House of Delegates (see contact information below) and ask them to oppose dirty water and vote against HB 2889. Late yesterday afternoon, the House Judiciary Committee passed HB 2889 -- a bill that will let the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) determine the state’s water quality standards, instead of the independent Environmental Quality Board. The bill is now scheduled to go to the House floor for final consideration. So now is the time for you to let your delegates know that they should vote against this bill. Background: HB 2889 would transfer the EQB’s rulemaking authority to the DEP, allowing DEP to decide just how clean (or how dirty) our water will be. This version of HB 2889 would also strip EQB of its responsibility for approving “re-mining” variances, again transferring that authority to DEP. EQB would continue to exist only as an appellate board – hearing appeals of DEP permits. In addition, provisions of this bill could possibly result in decisions on variances and other policy matters being decided in closed meetings. Under current law the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) promulgates West Virginia’s water quality standards. Currently the board consists of five members, all of whom must have “expertise in water husbandry,” they are appointed by the governor, they serve staggered three-year terms so all are not appointed by the same governor, only three can be of the same political party, and none can work for any company that gets NPDES permits from the DEP. The EQB is the closest thing we can get to an “independent” board in this state. All of its deliberations and decisions are made in full public view and with full and open public notice and comment. Even though it is greatly underfunded, EQB has in the past had excellent and knowledgeable technical, legal and clerical staff. Folks, if you have any doubts about the EQB, you only need to ask yourself one question: do you trust DEP, no matter who is the governor, to protect and preserve clean water for the citizens of West Virginia? We simply MUST save the EQB! So please contact your members of the House of Delegates today or tomorrow and urge them to vote against the Committee Substitute for HB 2889. The toll-free number to reach your Delegates’ and Senators’ offices is 1-877-565-3447. Or you can find your legislator’s direct capitol number at the web site www.legis.state.wv.us . For more information contact Don Garvin at either DSGJR@aol.com or (304) 539-7399.
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