The Northwest Forest Plan was adopted in April of 1994 to protect the Northern spotted owl and the Pacific salmon as well as thousands of other at risk species from the timber industry. During the last ten years the plan has drastically reduced clear-cutting in Northwest ancient and rare forests.
On March 23, the Bush administration announced two major changes in the Northwest Forest Plan. Firstly, the administration eliminated the "Survey and Manage" program, commonly referred to as "look before you log," which required forest managers to inspect ancient forests for endangered or rare species and establish protective buffers before approving timber industry logging. The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management estimate that without "Survey and Manage," 47 species are now at high risk of local extinction.
The administration also modified the Northwest Forest Plan's "Aquatic Conservation Strategy," a set of provisions that limits harmful run-off from the logging operations into streams where salmon live. Under the newly announced amendment, The Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management is no longer required to review and ensure that logging activity does not harm water quality. The changes came just a month before the Northwest Forest Plan celebrated its tenth anniversary.
(Sources: ems.org - "On Eve of Northwest Forest Plan 10th Anniversary, Conservationists Decry Administration Plans to Increase Old Growth Logging". sierraclub.org - "Undoing Important Northwest Forest and Wildlife Protections". about.com - "Bush Administration Lifts Old Growth Protections in Northwest," March 23, 2004)
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In an ABC-TV interview in July 2000, Dick Cheney denied participation in any oil- or other business-dealings between Halliburton and Iraq while he was CEO of the company. He admitted to deals with Libya and Iran, but stated that there were strict policies against dealing with Iraq. The Washington Post later revealed that according to UN reports, Halliburton in fact signed contracts worth $73 million with Iraq while Cheney was its CEO. According to the report, two Halliburton subsidiaries sold materials to Baghdad through French affiliates. The sales took place between the first half of 1997 and the summer of 2000. Cheney resigned from Halliburton in August of 2000.
Three weeks after the aforementioned interview, Cheney was informed that a Halliburton spokesman had publicly stated that Dresser Rand and Ingersoll Dresser Pump (the Halliburton subsidiaries) traded with Iraq. Cheney then modified his earlier response, and claimed to be unaware of these dealings. However, the firms continued trading with Iraq for more than a year while Cheney was Halliburton's CEO.
In September '03, Cheney said that since becoming vice president, "I've severed all my ties with (Halliburton), gotten rid of all my financial interest. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had, now, for over three years."
To this day he still possesses over 430,000 shares of Halliburton stock options and a deferred compensation account valued at between $500,000 and $1 million.
As Vice President, Cheney continually denies playing any direct role in the government's awarding of multibillion dollar contracts to Halliburton and its subsidiaries, despite internal Pentagon emails indicating that he has.
President Bush has been quoted as saying Cheney's "doing a heck of a good job. When I picked him I knew he was a fine business leader and a fine, experienced man."
(Sources: "Bush defends Cheney over Halliburton" CNN.com, July 17, 2002. See article at:
www.cnn.com. "Cheney's Halliburton Ties Remain" CBS News, September 26, 2003. See article at:
www.cbsnews.com. "Halliburton Iraq ties more than Cheney said" NewsMax Wires, Monday, June 25, 2001. See article at:
www.newsmax.com.)