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New Mexico Congressman Plans to Defy Law, Cut Trees on National Forest
Thursday, September 8, 2011
New Mexico Congressman Plans to Defy Law, Cut Trees on National Forest
Steve Pearce says he will illegally cut trees on Lincoln National Forest
Contact: Bryan Bird (505) 501-4488
Cloudcroft, NM— Congressman Steve Pearce has announced thathe plans to illegally cut trees down on the Lincoln National Forest as a partof Otero County’s emergency tree cutting stunt scheduled on September 17, 2011.If he makes good on this promise he risks arrest and charges of violatingfederal law for stealing and/or damaging government property. (See for example 18USC 371; 18 USC 641; 18 USC 1852; 7 CFR 3017.305; 7 CFR 3017.405; 36 CFR223.48; and 36 CFR 261.6).
“Cutting down trees on federal land withouta permit or other contract is against the law,” said Bryan Bird, Wild PlacesProgram Director for WildEarth Guardians. “Pearce should be arrested andcharged like any other criminal should he make good on his political stunt.”
Removal of trees from national forest system lands without avalid permit is considered theft of federal property. Illegal cutters can facea maximum fine of $5,000, up to six months in jail and potential seizure of thevehicles and chain saws, if the value of the wood is less than $1000. Penaltiesincrease when the theft of federal timber is valued at $1000 or more, resultingin a felony violation. Felony convictions carry steeper fines, more prisontime, and allow for seizure of vehicles and equipment used to perpetrate thecrime.
“It’s a mystery what exactly the Congressman is upsetabout,” said Bird. “Recent wildfires are a result of 100 years of unsustainableforest policy including logging and grazing, now combined with climate change.Does he think logging will change the weather?”
Congressman Pearce is attempting to join a renegade countyin protest of national forest management in New Mexico. The Congressman’stheatrics demonstrate how far outside of the mainstream he is. Fuels treatmentprograms on the national forests in New Mexico are ongoing, including thinningand controlled burning. The Forest Service Southwestern Region treated 202,414 acres (76,661in NM and 125,753 in AZ) in 2010 for high hazardous fuel loads and to date87,438 acres (35,208 in NM and 52,230 in AZ) in 2011.
George Ellinger, owner of Ellinger Logging in Alamogordo,N.M., told the Alamogordo News on April 24 that Pearce is misinformed. “There’sa misconception that there’s no logging going on,” he said. “Pearce came downand did a big talk with everybody, but he’s not talking to anybody who knowsanything.”
WildEarth Guardians will be asking the U.S. Forest Serviceand federal law enforcement officials to attend the event and arrestCongressman Pearce, as well as any Otero County officials, if any attempt tocut down trees on the Lincoln National Forest.
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CongressmanPearce’s August 26, 2011 Press Release
Contact:Jamie Dickerman, Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tel. 575-517-7382
Email: jamie.dickerman@mail.house.gov
PEARCE ATTENDING EMERGENCY TREE CUTTING IN LINCOLN NATIONAL FOREST
Otero County “Emergency Plan” Launches Local Environmental Resource Management
Cloudcroft, NM (August 26, 2011) Congressman Steve Pearce will participate inOtero County’s emergency tree cutting plan on September 17, 2011. Cutting willtake place on one acre of the Lincoln National Forest near Cloudcroft inefforts to clean up the forest and decrease the spread of fires.
“This is an important day for New Mexico,” said Pearce. “I look forwardto joining in this effort to restore common-sense forest management to NewMexico. It has been an uphill battle to begin logging again in New Mexico, butSeptember 17th will mark the beginning of increased public safety and localenvironmental resource management. Fires have devastated overgrown forests, andit is time to take back our forests and protect our families. I commend theOtero County Commissioners for their efforts to bring the power back to localgovernment.”
The Otero County Commission voted in June to create an emergency plan, allowingthe county to forego U.S. Forest Service policy and cut trees in the event ofan emergency. They created an 80,000-acre plan that calls for responsiblemanagement to protect local watershed and prevent fires that have threatenedCloudcroft for many years.
Otero County Commissioner Ronny Rardin has spearheaded efforts to thin theforest around Cloudcroft. “This is not just about a tree,” said Rardin. “It’sabout the fact that our county has been in a declared state of emergency forquite some time now because of severe drought. Our forest has been overcrowdedfor too long. We are going to show the world what an acre of forest land shouldlook like.”
The public is invited to attend the event, which will take place duringCloudcroft’s annual “Lumberjack Day” festivities at 12:00 noon on September17th.
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