Jewish Environmental Activists Call for Full Protection of Remaining Wild Forests - June 21, 2000

NEW YORK, NY (June 21, 2000) - Jews in favor of forest protection are coming out of the woodwork. Groups of Jewish activists will be testifying between June 21st and 29th at U.S. Forest Service hearings across the country* calling on the federal government to provide maximum protection for roadless areas in National Forests. Organized by the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), national and local Jewish institutions have taken up protection of remaining wild forested areas as a key strategy in fulfilling the Jewish imperative to protect creation - both for its own sake and for generations to come.

"Our collective Jewish voice, alongside the voices of hundreds of other organizations and communities, has played a vital role in motivating President Clinton and the U.S. Forest Service to develop an historic plan to protect millions of acres of pristine forest," said Mark X. Jacobs, executive director of COEJL. COEJL has been active in motivating the Administration to protect forested areas. Jacobs and COEJL board member Rabbi Warren Stone joined President Clinton at the George Washington National Forest on October 13, 1999 when he instructed the U.S. Forest Service to draft a plan to protect up to 60 million acres of roadless areas in National Forests.

In a statement released today, Mr. Jacobs said that "For thousands of years, Jewish tradition has taught that the earth does not belong to humans, but to God….If implemented in a comprehensive manner, the roadless forest initiative represents an extraordinary opportunity for us to fulfill our obligation as tenants in God's world, preventing destruction of the last remaining wild forests and creating a legacy of fully protected forest ecosystems."

THE FULL STATEMENT BY MARK X. JACOBS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COEJL, FOLLOWS:

"In a brief moment in the life of our planet, we have destroyed all but a remnant of the ancient forests that once graced the American landscape. Road-building, logging, and other destructive activities have already destroyed and degraded millions of acres in our National Forests-forests that belong the American people. Indeed, 96% of our old growth forests have been lost - threatening critical habitats for thousands of endangered creatures and plants and the clean water sources for millions of Americans. And in an increasingly developed and degraded world, ancient forests wildernesses serve as refuges for the human spirit - place where we can hear the small, still voice and connect to our Creator.

"For thousands of years, Jewish tradition has taught that the earth does not belong to humans, but to God. As the Psalmist teaches us, 'The Earth is the Eternal's.' We are tenants in God's world. We have a responsibility to our common Creator to protect the earth. And we have a responsibility to leave a living world to future generations. "COEJL believes that protecting remaining roadless areas in National Forests is a vital strategy in preserving, and eventually restoring, biodiversity in North America. Public lands should be managed to preserve and restore biological diversity. "We have already lost too much. We must preserve the remnant that remains. "On behalf of the organized American Jewish community, COEJL urges the Forest Service to fulfill the President's vision by protecting all roadless areas in National Forests from logging, mining, or grazing and other destructive activities on public lands. Further, the Forest Service should permanently protect the Tongass National Forest, our nation's largest national forest, and largest remaining temperate rain forest on the planet.

"If implemented in a comprehensive manner, the roadless forest initiative represents an extraordinary opportunity for us to fulfill our obligation as tenants in God's world, preventing destruction of the last remaining wild forests and creating a legacy of fully protected forest ecosystems. It is my hope and prayer that this obligation be fulfilled."

* COEJL leaders from the following communities will be testifying at hearings: Boulder (CO), Detroit, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland (OR), Sacramento, Santa Barbara, Seattle, and Tucson.

The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) is a coalition of 28 national Jewish organizations spanning the broad spectrum of American Jewish life, including Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, and Reform congregational and rabbinical bodies.