Lansing - The Capitol roared to life Wednesday morning with the angry buzz of chain saw-wielding environmental activists.
The groups gathered on the west Capitol lawn to protest what they deemed the "systematic destruction of the national forests" under the Bush administration.
Representatives of the Public Interest Research Group in Michigan, the National Forest Protection Alliance, the Sierra Club and the Alaska Coalition were on hand for the demonstration, which included a "21-chain saw salute."
Kelly Dettmer, an Ann Arbor research group member, led the coalition's chain saw salute with three cries of "Timber," after which seven chain saws were raised and revved.
Activists said they were upset about The Healthy Forest Restoration Initiative. The initiative is intended to reduce the risk of community damage from wildfires, and authorize grants "to improve the commercial value of forest biomass," among other items. Having already been passed through the House, the act will be introduced into the Senate this month.
"It is clear that the Bush administration would rather see our national forests teeming with chainsaws and bulldozers than wildlife and old-growth trees," said Ryan Bates, the research group campaign coordinator.
Sierra Club member Marvin Roberson, a forest policy specialist in Michigan, said if passed, the act would allocate $150 million in subsidies to timber industries, which would in turn exhaust national forests.
"The basic conclusion is that the Bush administration, under the guise of national health, is giving the forest away to the timber industry," he said. "I want folks to understand that the Bush administration is actively undermining this situation, in order to pay back contributions from the timber industry."
The act also will alter the National Environmental Policy Act, which allows citizens to appeal logging projects; and the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which prohibits road construction in America's national forests except to fight fires, ensure public safety and protect forest health.
Bates disagreed with the act's intentions, saying "their proposals would give the timber industry unfettered access to our last wild forests."
Sen. Pete V. Domenici, R-New Mexico, who will introduce the act into Senate, said in a statement that instead of depleting the wilderness, the act would help prevent future forest loss due to fire and insects.
"I share President Bush's commitment to return to wise and proactive managing our forests to protect our environment and our rural communities," Domenici said.
Dettmer said she participated in Wednesday's assembly to increase public awareness about the impact the act will have on U.S. forests.
"We need to find ways to curb urban sprawl and save national areas, or those are treasures we won't have as we get older," she said. "(Bush) has a lot of power and he's ignoring this."
