For sale by Representative Pombo

Bay Area rep tries to sell off parks, coast for private development

Californians take enormous pride in our natural heritage - from the mountains and rivers of Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada to the stunning beaches of our California coast - and we believe these special places should be protected for future generations to enjoy. Last year, Rep. Richard Pombo tried to use his powerful position as chair of the House Resources Committee to insert controversial language into the federal budget that would allow national parks and waterways to be sold to private developers and open up protected coastline - including the California coast - to oil drilling.

Pombo is of special concern to us because his congressional district includes part of the Bay Area. The bizarrely shaped district includes Danville, Blackhawk, San Ramon, Dublin, Pleasanton, Sunol, Brentwood, Discovery Bay, Byron, and a large swath of rural Eastern Alameda County, as well as a big chunk of the Central Valley and Santa Clara County.

Pombo attempted to insert language in the 2006 federal budget that would:

• sell off several national parks and scenic rivers to private developers and mining companies;
• open our coastal areas, including the California and Florida coasts, to offshore oil and gas drilling;
• help wealthy oil companies drill in sacred places such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

As a new budget process gets underway, we must urge Pombo not to use riders or accounting gimmicks to authorize the sale of public parks, forests, and waterways to private interests. Instead we need him to support a budget that ensures our federal agencies have the tools they need to safeguard our natural legacy into the future.

National parks for sale

Last September Pombo proposed selling off 15 national parks, ranging from Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site - here in Danville in the Bay Chapter - to several parks and preserves in Alaska. In the same proposal, which was part of the Budget Reconciliation Package, he also proposed selling of advertising and naming rights in national parks as well. After much public outcry, the proposal was later withdrawn.

Drilling in Arctic and off coasts

Last year Pombo was the chief architect and advocate of a plan to end the 25-year moratorium on oil drilling off the coasts of California, Florida, and other states, drawing strong objections even from fellow-Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. He tried to sneak this measure, accompanied by a plan to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, into a House Budget Reconciliation package, which has far less opportunity for debate than traditional legislative vehicles. The bill would have passed if not for the courage of several moderate Republicans who refused to give in to Pombo's outrageous tactics.

Auctioning off wilderness

In November Pombo secretly tucked a provision into a budget bill to sell off as much as six million acres of public land - including wilderness and national parks - to mining companies and real-estate developers.

The move prompted strong opposition from six western governors, who called the proposal "ill conceived" and of "sinister intent" and noted that the policy would raise a "paltry" $32 million a year while giving up $2 billion in royalties. In California's Sierra County local officials worried that the plan would fuel speculative real-estate development along the Yuba and other rivers, while park officials in Death Valley National Park and the Mohave Preserve feared that Pombo's provision would bring new mining operations, condominiums, casinos, and even landfills into the park. The backlash against the bill was so strong that the plan was removed from the bill at the last minute.

WhatYouCanDo

Tell Rep. Pombo that you do not want him to use the federal budget process to sell off national parks and conservation lands to mining companies and developers or to open the California and other protected coasts for oil drilling. For more information and to sign our petition, visit www.sierraclub.org/pombo