Bush blow to forests
In another last-minute FU to the nation's natural resources, the Bush administration is about to implement a agreement that would let Plum Creek Timber pave roads through Forest Service land, the Washington Post reports. Plum Creek Timber is lately in the real estate business, converting mountain acreage in the West to housing tracts.
Mark E. Rey, the former timber lobbyist who heads the Forest Service, last week signaled his intent to formalize the controversial change before the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama. As a candidate, Obama campaigned against the measure in Montana, where local governments complained of being blindsided by Rey's negotiating the policy shift behind closed doors with the nation's largest private landowner.
Plum Creek owns around 900,000 acres in Arkansas.
Comments
Let me get this straight....a real estate developer wants to cut roads in and build houses when the housing market is tanking? Dude, to whom are you going to sell these houses?
Posted by: EY![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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January 3, 2009 11:43 AM
A former lobbyist and current Bush appointee negotiating a policy shift behind closed doors. Imagine that!
Posted by: durangokid![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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January 3, 2009 12:21 PM
This is ridiculous! The forest service (which should be called the "logging service" IMO) often won't let folks ride mountain bikes on trails and fire roads in this state because they'll "mess up the land" or cause some sort of damage, but they allow widespread logging, horses trot all over creation, and ATVs get the run of lots of acres. Now this???
I'd love to see P-E Obama make some major changes in the USFS - and all the areas related to outdoors. Those are PUBLIC lands, are they not? Who can I contact in the government about this? Local reps or someone else. I'm fed up, and so are lots of other people who like to bike.
Posted by: Liberal and Proud![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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January 3, 2009 01:01 PM
900,000 acres in Arkansas? where? can anybody stop this insane shit? And, do we want to? Would the locals where these acres are rather have any faux- bubble-thing instead of nothing? Please elaborate.
Posted by: Atlas999![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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January 3, 2009 06:36 PM