The Bush Administration has declared war on our National Forests. On the key forest issues facing the nation, here’s a sampling of what we’re up against.

What Congressman Don Young (R-AK) says: "This Administration has devastated the economy of Southeast Alaska and this new decision [on roadless areas] will make the situation even worse. Timber has been a key component of the region's economic base for the past several decades, yet in just a few years, the Clinton-Gore Administration has managed to drive up unemployment rates and force out generations of hard-working Alaskan families."

The Truth: The two pulpmills that purchased most of the Tongass’s timber closed years before the decision to protect Tongass roadless areas. They closed in response to declining prices for dissolving pulp and overseas competition.

What Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) says: The Forest Service is exhibiting "clinically delusional" behavior by protecting undeveloped roadless areas.

The Truth: Larry Craig receives more campaign contributions from the timber industry than any other senator. His powerful position on the Forests and Public Lands subcommittee gives him direct jurisdiction over the National Forests, which he uses to promote his supporters’ commercial interests on public lands.

To blunt the Bush Administration's influence, FSEEE is working to build coalitions on both sides of the aisle among political moderates. There are about 50 key members in the House and about 15 in the Senate that can swing an environmental vote from "nay" to "yea." However, for the most part, these representatives and senators know little about natural resource issues. Their major focus is on other concerns, like health care or social security.

That’s where FSEEE is most effective. As one of the most credible sources of national forest knowledge available on Capitol Hill, we are looked to by the crucial swing votes for direction and education. These members of Congress and their staff want to know "what’s FSEEE’s position?"

Getting them the information they need to cast intelligent votes requires that FSEEE exhaustively research the issues. Our research often includes on-the-ground data gathering among our Forest Service employee members. We then analyze the data and distill the results into position papers easily understood by the lay members of Congress.

This work in the political trenches of Capitol Hill is not easy. But when we do the job right, FSEEE's influence far exceeds our relatively modest numbers.