When Schwarzenegger promised
to clear up politics as usual in Sacramento, environmentalists couldn’t
imagine that meant appointing lumber industry lobbyists intent on clear
cutting the state’s forests.
AW tipsters tell us that Melinda Terry, a lobbyist for the California
Forestry Association, is now on the short list to be the new
Legislative Director for the California Resources Agency. One of
Terry’s cohorts is already #2 at the California Environmental
Protection Agency. Pacific Lumber’s former Director of External
Relations, James Branham, was appointed by the Gov as undersecretary.
Terry lobbied against a law enacted last year, SB 810 (Burton), that
will now allow local water boards to review timber industry logging
plans to determine their impact on water quality. Environmentalists
expect the industry is attempting an end-run around the new law by
infiltrating CAL EPA and the Resources Agency — the two government
entities responsible for oversight of the local water boards and
logging interests.
Another logging-related policy showdown is in the works. The Bush
Administration has said that it plans to support a weakening of the
Sierra Framework — policies that govern logging in the Sierra Nevada
forests. Schwarzenegger’s administration has said it will oppose
weakening of the plan but environmental leaders are concerned that
Branham’s appointment and the possible appointment of Terry to
Resources Agency is a sign that Arnold plans to go back on his word.
What is the sound of another broken Schwarzenegger campaign promise? "Timber!"
