Conservation Insider Bulletin from Dan Besse, Dec. 28

Conservation Insider Bulletin
Published weekly for the Conservation Council of North Carolina
Conservation News to Peruse & Use
Editor: Dan Besse, earthvote@ccnccpac.org

December 28, 2007

It's actually raining this week around much of North Carolina. Hey, why not finish the year with some good news, in this week's CIB?:

--Washington Watch: Energy Bill Includes Block Grants; Budget Includes 'Road to Nowhere' Settlement Cash

--Campaign Watch: DCCC Targets NC8; 'Club for Growth' Targets Huckabee

--Judicial Watch: Groups May Sue Forest Service Over Timber Sales

--Around the Globe: European Forests Expanding

Washington Watch: Energy Bill Includes Block Grants; Budget Includes 'Road to Nowhere' Settlement Cash

Energy Bill Includes Block Grants: The Energy Independence and Security Act signed into law last week contains a number of positive provisions. One of those being publicized now is $10 billion in funding for block grants to local and state governments for energy efficiency and conservation initiatives. The money will be distributed in a competitive application process to initiatives such as building and home energy conservation programs, energy audits, fuel conservation programs, "smart growth" planning, and alternative energy programs. About two-thirds of the funding is reserved for local governments. Cities with populations of 35,000 or more can apply. (Nation's Cities Weekly, 12/24/07.)

Budget Includes 'Road to Nowhere' Settlement Cash: In the midst of a nasty partisan confrontation over budget issues, freshman Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC11) has managed to pull an environmental coup. The long-delayed omnibus budget bill includes a $6 million "down payment" on the pending $52 million settlement payment to permanently cancel construction of the notorious "Road to Nowhere" into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Other members of Congress in both North Carolina and Tennessee supported funding for the proposed settlement deal between the federal government and Swain County.

Campaign Watch: DCCC Targets NC8; 'Club for Growth' Targets Huckabee

DCCC Targets NC8: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), still chagrined about its narrowly missed opportunity in 2006, has designated N.C.'s Eighth Congressional District as a targeted race for 2008. Among the 40 seats targeted for DCCC funding in pickup efforts nationwide, NC8 is the only contest in the Southeast (outside of Florida) included on the list. The incumbent, Rep. Robin Hayes (R-NC8) is a recurring figure on the national League of Conservation Voters' "Dirty Dozen" list.

'Club for Growth' Targets Huckabee: This is not precisely good news—but it is an interesting commentary on the state of the Republican presidential nomination fight. The "Club for Growth", an anti-tax, anti-regulatory advocacy group—almost never a friend of environmental protections—has launched an advertising attack campaign in Iowa against the surprising GOP poll leader there, Mike Huckabee. It seems that Huckabee, a darling of the Republican social right, is far too flexible on economic policies to suit the hard-core free marketeers. Of interest to environmental quality advocates, for example, Huckabee has actually had positive things to say about the importance of addressing global warming. (His position there, while not well-developed in its specifics, seems to grow out of that strain of evangelical Christianity which has begun preaching "creation care" as a part of its policy platform.) Combined with the resurgence of McCain (who does have a well-defined, and positive, position on global warming) in New Hampshire, this seems to indicate that at least moderately favorable environmental thinking is back in competitive play among the national Republican primary electorate. And that is good news.

Judicial Watch: Groups May Sue Forest Service Over Timber Sales

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and Wild South (formerly named the Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project) are negotiating with the U.S. Forest Service over a timber sale in the Pisgah National Forest in western North Carolina. SELC and Wild South hope to persuade the Forest Service to exclude old growth forest areas from its sale of timber rights in the Globe area near Blowing Rock. If the negotiations are unsuccessful, the groups intend to take the sale to court. Other opposition to the sale has been generated by concern over the timbering impact on scenic views from near Blowing Rock. The Forest Service is expected to announce its final decision on the internal appeals and negotiations in January. The sale plan at issue was announced by the Forest Service in 2005, and cutting is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2009 unless blocked. (Winston-Salem Journal, 12/28/07.)

Around the Globe: European Forests Expanding

Among all the grim indicators regarding the accelerating pace of global climate change, let's take a moment to finish 2007 on a note of positive news in this arena: European forests. After shrinking over the centuries, the trend has notably reversed. With financial support from the European Union and member nation governments, "aforestation" programs have increased the extent of European forest cover by an estimated 10% since 1990. Ireland, for example, has approximately doubled its forest area since the 1980's, from five to ten percent of its land area. Spain has seen similar results. The increases have resulted in large part from shifting financial incentives, to turn marginally productive farmland into forest. Among other environmental benefits, increasing forests provides a sink for carbon emissions. The push for aforestation is expected to continue and intensify. (Globe and Mail, Toronto, Ontario, 12/20/07.)

Happy New Year to all! See you in 2008.