-Caveat Lector-
Alert: Oppose Gale Norton and the Wise Use Agenda
Posted by ecott on Friday January 12, @11:35AM
More than 200 national, state and local groups, along with labor and civil
rights leaders, have united to oppose the nomination of Colorado attorney
Gale Norton for Secretary of the Interior (www.SayNoToNorton.org).
Oppose Gale Norton and the Wise Use Agenda
Subject: Gale Norton and the Wise Use Agenda Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2001
14:00:25 -0500 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
A special report of CLEAR, the anti-environmentalism watchdog.
** Please distribute ** ** Please distribute ** ** Please distribute **
More than 200 national, state and local groups, along with labor and civil
rights leaders, have united to oppose the nomination of Colorado attorney
Gale Norton for Secretary of the Interior (www.SayNoToNorton.org).
There are many reasons that Gale Norton should not serve in Interior. Most
of these reasons are related to Norton's connections with and work on
behalf of the anti-environmentalism movement.
CLEAR has been conducting research in Norton's wise use affiliations.
Citizens, activists, and members of the US Senate need to ask: "Will Gale
Norton pursue the "Wise Use Agenda" if she is confirmed as Secretary of
Interior?"
Visit -- www.presidentbushwatch.org
Gale Norton's Associations with Anti-Environmental and Wise Use Groups
Gale Norton has a long history of involvement with anti-environmental
groups and the Wise Use movement. Below are descriptions of some of the
groups in question, and details of her involvement with them. CLEAR is
currently looking into other groups with which Norton has worked, so this
list should not be considered exhaustive.
Coalition of Republican Environmental Advocates
Gale Norton was a founder and the National Chair of CREA, an
"environmental" group with a highly questionable green pedigree.
Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP), a group of Republicans
with demonstrably good environmental records, has described CREA as "a
transparent attempt to fool voters who care about environmental
protection." REP's newsletter went on to say that "CREA shows no signs of
being either grassroots or pro-environment. The word greenscam comes first
to mind.Their enthusiasm for taxpayer- soaking corporate subsidies betrays
a lack of sincerity in their alleged support for the free market." CREA
positioned itself as a grassroots organization, but all evidence pointed
to the contrary. CREA was, in fact, a political action committee. This was
not mentioned on the CREA web site (www.gop4environment.org, now out of
commission). The group has been inactive since 1998.
When the Atlanta Journal and Constitution asked Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY),
whom REP named "Environmental Legislator of the Year" in 1998, if he was a
member of CREA, he replied, "Oh gosh, no. I belong to a respectable
environmental organization." In fact, no Republicans with good
environmental voting records are involved with CREA. Instead, the group's
"Honorary Board Members" included Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-GA), Rep. Don
Young (R-AK), Richard Pombo (R-CA), Rep. Helen Chenoweth (R-ID), Sen. Dirk
Kempthorne (R-ID), Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID). These six members of Congress
had a 1997 combined average League of Conservation Voters score of only 5
percent.
Also an honorary board member was Americans for Tax Reform's Grover
Norquist, who was at the time a registered lobbyist for British Petroleum.
According to the Christian Science Monitor, CREA's steering committee
included "registered lobbyists for the petroleum, mining, auto-making,
firearms and alcoholic beverage industries." CREA was funded by Coors
Brewing Co., American Forest and Paper Association, the Chemical
Manufacturers Association, Amoco, ARCO, Ford Motors, and similar
corporations, all of which fund other anti-environmental organizations.
Defenders of Property Rights
Norton sits on the Board of Advisors of Defenders of Property Rights
(DPR), a Washington-based legal foundation dedicated entirely to property
rights matters, which was founded in 1991 by former Mountain States Legal
Foundation staffers Roger and Nancie Marzulla. DPR is clearly excited
about the prospect of Norton's confirmationsoon after her nomination, the
group optimistically changed Norton's affiliation on its web site to
"Secretary of the Interior."
DPR's primary goal has been to promote "takings" laws, which threaten to
make environmental laws and regulations prohibitively expensive by
requiring payments to private landowners and others who might be affected
by regulations. The group litigates takings-related cases, and also
lobbies for the passage of such laws at both the state and the national
level. Defenders of Property Rights staffers reportedly worked, behind the
scene, on the 1995 Omnibus Property Rights Bill, sponsored by Larry Craig.
Unlike most D.C.-based conservative policy organizations, DPR is also
active in the more state-based Wise Use movement. The organization is a
regular participant in the Alliance for America's Fly-In for Freedom.
Defenders has supported Chuck "Rent-a-Riot" Cushman's private-property
voter scorecard, and is involved in several other anti-environmental
coalition groups, including one with the goal of dismantling the
Endangered Species Act.
Since its inception, DPR has been a bridge between the activities of the
sagebrush Wise Users and the Washington political set. For example, at the
group's 1998 national conference, panelists included distinguished members
of the conservative elite. The keynote speaker was then-Senator John
Ashcroft (R-MO), who has been nominated as Attorney General by George W.
Bush. Oliver North spoke on "International Issues and Property Rights,"
and former vice-president Dan Quayle presented DPR's "Ronald Reagan Public
Service Award" to former Virginia Governor George Allen. Other speakers
included Congressmen David McIntosh (R-IN) and Charles Canady (R-FL) and
Bob Cole, Vice President of Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation.
Hoover Institution
Norton was identified as a National Fellow of the Hoover Institution in
1994. It is not clear how long before or after she held the position. The
conservative think-tank, which is affiliated with Stanford University, is
best known for its advocacy of the "star wars" missile defense system
during the Reagan Administration, and for its anti-Communist zeal in the
late 1950's. It is also involved in the anti-environmental movement, and
in recent years, has been particularly aggressive in promoting the opinion
that global warming does not represent an environmental problem.
One example of Hoover's anti-environmental activities was a conference on
"the greening of American foreign policy," which was held at the
institution in October 1998. According to Hoover, the symposium was needed
because "American armed forces have become increasingly distracted by
inappropriate environmental issues, including global warming and
sustainable development," and "U.S. tax dollars have gone to environmental
groups waging spurious economic campaigns against American companies." The
conference was organized by, among others, Hoover fellow Terry Anderson,
who is also executive director of the free market Political Economy
Research Center in Bozeman, MT, where Gale Norton is also a fellow.
Independence Institute
Norton was a fellow of the Independence Institute until 1990, and now sits
on its board of directors. Publications by the free-market Colorado
think-tank have called smart growth "an elitist assault on the American
Dream." Not surprisingly, the Institute supports polluter privilegeor
"environmental self-audit"laws, which Norton has promoted, and opposes
centralized planning of any kind, even for natural resources such as
water.
Mountain States Legal Foundation
Norton worked in a staff position at the conservative Mountain States
Legal Foundation (MSLF) between 1979 and 1983. Movement godfather, Ron
Arnold, once called MSLF the "litigating arm of the Wise Use movement."
MSLF was founded in 1976 and originally bankrolled by Joseph Coors, who
was once called "one of the country's leading anti-environmentalists" by
Reader's Digest. James Watt served as founding president before he became
Reagan's controversial Secretary of the Interior. Anne Gorsuch Burford,
Reagan's equally controversial Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, also worked at MSLF. Active in "Wise Use" circles from
the beginning, MSLF was a sponsor of the first Wise Use leadership
conference in Reno, NV in 1998 and has participated in many other Wise Use
meetings over the years.
MSLF started the careers of some of the most anti-environmental attorneys
in the country, including Karen Budd-Falen, who largely thought up the
county supremacy argument, and Roger and Nancie Marzulla, founders of
Defenders of Property Rights (where Gale Norton serves as an advisorsee
above). The bulk of MSLF's activities have been focussed on public land
litigation and on "takings" issues. In recent years, MSLF has attempted to
block wildlife management plans, defended the American Farm Bureau
Federation against the Department of Interior over wolf re-introduction,
and defended oil and gas companies that violated EPA pollution
regulations. The group also opposed President Clinton's national monument
designations, represented Rep. Helen Chenoweth (R-ID) in a suit against
Clinton's American Heritage Rivers Initiative, backed a suit claiming the
ESA violates the Commerce Clause, and unsuccessfully challenged a
voluntary climbing ban on Devil's Tower designed to protect Native
American religious rites.
(CLEAR is conducting additional research on MSLF and its cases with which
Norton was involved, and will release that information soon.)
Political Economy Research Center
Norton is currently a fellow at the Political Economy Research Center
(PERC), which is based in Bozeman, MT. PERC bills itself as a "free market
environmental think tank," which means, in practice, that it opposes most
environmental regulations in favor of "market solutions." PERC has
recommended weakening the Endangered Species Act and promotes "takings"
legislation, among other anti-regulatory schemes.
PERC has received funding from Amoco, ARCO, the Chemical Manufacturers
Association, Conoco, Eli Lilly and Co., Pfizer, and Coors. It is also
supported by a long list of conservative foundations, including the JM
Foundation, the Olin Foundation, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation,
the Sarah Scaife Foundation, the Scaife-run Carthage Foundation, and the
Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation. PERC is listed as a "networking
participant" in the Wise Use movement's umbrella organization, the
Alliance for America. Terry Anderson of PERC was a member of George W.
Bush's presidential campaign environmental advisory staff, as was Gale
Norton
The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition
Norton was an Advisor to the The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition
(TASSC), which was launched in 1993. Initially, TASSC's principal backer
was Philip Morris, and the group presented an industry-oriented view of
science-based regulations. Among its first targets were health risks from
secondhand smoke (which it questioned) and other tort issues. Over time,
the industry-funded group dismissed most major government environmental
programs as based on "junk science."
Led by Steven Milloy, a lobbyist whose primary client was Monsanto, TASSC
was little more than a corporate front group. In the five years of its
existence, TASSC was run by a bare-bones staff out of the Washington, DC,
offices of the public relations firm APCO and Associates. Though initially
conceived as a pro-tobacco public relations vehicle, the "sound science"
coalition was supported by dozens of corporations, including Exxon,
Procter and Gamble, Dow, and 3M. TASSC's goal was to raise doubt in public
forums about the scientific legitimacy of environmental protection. Their
standard practice was issue calls for "sound science," and to decry
alleged alliances between environmentalists and biased journalists.
TASSC criticized studies ranging from the quality of drinking water to
pesticides in baby food, claiming that the reports were based on
unscientific findings, and were merely scare tactics used by interest
groups to drum up financial support. TASSC also considered global warming
a farce, and opposed stricter air quality standards. In the spring of
1998, the New York Times revealed that TASSC was part of a corporate plan
to pump millions of dollars into a campaign to cast doubt on global
warming. TASSC faded into oblivion after September 1998, soon after the
story appeared.
Washington Legal Foundation
Norton is currently on the Advisory Board of the Washington Legal
Foundation (WLF). WLF is yet another pro-business, anti-regulatory legal
foundation. WLF works more on business cases than those involving
environmental issues, but is still a proponent of "takings" laws and other
anti-regulatory schemes that favor industry profits over environmental
protection.
Wise Use Leaders consider Gale Norton sympathetic to their cause
"She's been a friend to everyone (in wise-use groups) for a long, long
time." Ron Arnold, Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise (USA Today,
January 2, 2001, parentheses in original article)
"Gale Norton cares about private property, access to federal lands and
multiple use of those lands for the benefit of all Americans," Chuck
Cushman, American Land Rights Association (Sacramento Bee, January 7,
2001)
"The 'wise use' movement - industry groups and rural Americans, mostly in
the West - sees a new Republican administration as presenting their best
chance in eight years to open up public lands to more logging, ranching,
and mining, while providing greater protections for private property."
Christian Science Monitor, January 8, 2001
Background on the Wise Use Movement's 25 Point Agenda
The "wise use" movement held its first national gathering in Reno, Nevada,
in August 1988. The conference was organized by Ron Arnold and the Center
for the Defense of Free Enterprise and was attended by almost 300
individuals and organizations. The aim of the event was to develop a
strategy for promoting the unregulated use of the nation's natural
resources, including public lands.
Conferees contributed suggestions that were forged into a list of the
twenty-five top goals of the "wise use" movement and published in the book
The Wise Use Agenda. The goals include opening up the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge for oil development, passing a global warming prevention
bill which would allow logging of "oxygen-using" trees in established
forests, property rights protection, and weakening the Endangered Species
Act.
The Wise Use 25 Point Agenda
Which elements of the Wise Use Agenda does Gale Norton Support?
The Wise Use Agenda, published after the 1988 wise use leadership
conference delineates the following twenty-five goals of the movement:
1 Wise Use Public Education Project Initiate a public education project
to demonstrate how Wise Use of the national forests and federal lands can
reduce the federal deficit.
2 Development of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Open ANWR for oil
exploration and extraction.
3 Inholders Protection Act Give broader property rights to inholders
(persons who own land within the borders or tangent to federal or state
lands).
4 Global Warming Protection Act Increase young stands of "oxygen
producing" trees by removing "oxygen-using" old growth timber in National
Forests.
5 Tongass National Forest Timber Harvest Area Increase harvesting of
timber in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska.
6 National Mining System Open all public lands, including wilderness
areas and national parks, to mining and energy production.
7 Beneficial Use Water Rights Act Assert states' sovereign rights in
matters pertaining to water distribution and regulation.
8 Forest Reserves Commemoration Commemorate the one hundredth
anniversary of the founding of the Forest Reserves by calling attention to
the commodity use of forests and the homestead settlement of these areas
in the early years of the Service.
9 Rural Community Stability Act Increase harvesting of trees in national
forests to promote "rural, timber-dependent community stability."
10 National Timber Harvest System Create a national timber harvesting
system that allows for greater harvesting of timber on public lands.
11 National Parks Reform Act Reorganize the National Park Service. This
includes the implementation of Mission 2010, a 20-year construction
program that would maximize concession stands and accommodations in
national parks, remove entry limits and bring in private firms experienced
in people moving, such as Walt Disney, to manage the parks.
12 Pre-Patent Protection of Pest Controls Expand the window of time that
a patent protects companies and individuals that develop new pest-control
products by excluding the time spent testing the product.
13 National Rangeland Grazing System Open all federal lands for grazing.
14 Compassionate Wilderness Policy Open all wilderness areas to
motorized wheelchair access.
15 National Industrial Policy Act Support the enactment of an act
requiring all Federal actions -- legislative and regulatory -- to include
an economic impact statement.
16 Truth in Regulation Act Require greater specificity in all costs
associated with compliance with environmental regulations.
17 Property Rights Protection Allow property owners to recover easements
on property taken for railroad construction once the railroads have been
abandoned.
18 Endangered Species Act Amendments Amend and weaken the ESA to exclude
"non-adaptive" and "relic species in decline before the appearance of
man," such as the California Condor, and requiring cost-benefit analysis.
19 Obstructionism Liability Require parties that challenge any
development or economic action in court to post a bond equivalent to the
economic benefits of the action (plus cost overruns for delay), and pay
damages to the developer in the event the challenge is unsuccessful.
20 Private Rights in Federal Lands Act Strengthen the claims to private
rights on federal lands for mining, grazing, harvesting timber, etc.
21 Global Resources Wise Use Act Calls for the adoption of a
pro-industry consideration in natural resource-use decisions and for free
trade measures.
22 Perfect the Wilderness Act Change the National Wilderness
Preservation System to allow for commercial uses. Reorganize areas so that
some are designated for partial development while others are allowed more
extensive development.
23 Standing to Sue in Defense of Industry Allow Wise Use groups standing
to sue on behalf of industries that are threatened or harmed by
environmentalists.
24 National Recreation Trails Trust Act Use monies from the federal
gasoline tax to create trails for off-road motorized vehicles.
25 End the "Let It Burn" Policy Discontinue the Forest Service's policy
of allowing some naturally occurring fires to burn, and introduce an
active prevention system.
**Corporations and Organizations that supported the 1988 Reno Wise Use
Leadership Conference (partial listing) **
American Land Rights Association, National Inholders Association,
Associated Logging Contractors of Idaho BlueRibbon Coalition California
Cattlemen's Association California Chamber of Commerce California Farm
Bureau California Women In Timber Center for the Defense of Free
Enterprise Citizens Equal Rights Alliance; Montana Chapter Citizens for
Multiple Use Columbia Gorge United Committee to Preserve Property Rights
Competitive Enterprise Institute Consumer Alert; California office
Council of Forest Industries Du Pont Company; Agricultural Products Dept
Elko County Farm Bureau Exxon Company, U.S.A. Georgia Pacific Corp
Idaho Cattle Association Louisiana Pacific Corporation Motorcycle
Industry Council Mountain States Legal Foundation Multiple Use
Association National Association of Mining Districts National Rifle
Association North West Timber Association Northwest ATV Association
Northwest Forestry Association Northwest Legal Foundation Oregon Farm
Bureau Pacific Lumber Company Washington Contract Loggers Association
Washington County Commission Western Forest Industries Association
Willamette Forestry Council Yakima Valley Dust Dodgers Motorcycle Club
Research provided by CLEAR. Contact CLEAR: Daniel Barry,
[EMAIL PROTECTED], 202-291-7515 Emily Headen,
[EMAIL PROTECTED], 503-236-8788
www.presidentbushwatch.org
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