The commissioners sent that information to the IURC Thursday, and it has yet to be received, according to officials. The sweeping Kentucky Forest Conservation Act is almost a misnomer. It has more to do with conserving lakes and streams than with saving trees. It's water quality. The laws, which environmentalists describe as weak, only restrict logging near streams, and not the method of logging or how much is cut.
Loggers learn other environmentally friendly logging methods at master logger classes.
Opponents of the program have added language to an Agriculture Department spending bill that would largely prohibit the agency from spending money on it. Last year, similar language was inserted in appropriations bills for the Defense and Interior departments, effectively barring those agencies from taking part in the program. The American Heritage River program is a relatively modest initiative unveiled by Clinton in his 1997 State of the Union address. The program offers no new money nor imposes any new regulations. Instead, it provides federal administrative help to river communities looking for funding and other backing for environmental cleanup and economic development projects.