high fives

WISE USERS by Tom Turner

1. CLEAR is the Clearinghouse on Environmental Advocacy and Research run by the Environmental Working Group. It has an extensive file of research and information on scores of wise-use groups, including supporters, funders, activities, and leaders. Read the newsletter, A Clear View. Good links to other anti-wise-use publications and sources. It just gets better every time you visit. Now you can search by state to find out who's up to what kind of mischief.

2. Alliance for America is a loose coalition of property-rights, anti-environmental-group, pro-gun, libertarian outfits. This is the best set of linkages to wise-users we've found so far.

3. Political Economy Research Center is a libertarian environmental think tank out of Bozeman, Montana. Serious and scholarly, endless articles and tracts argue that a free market and as little government as possible are the best way to a bright environmental future.

4. People for the West is one of the largest and best-funded of the wise use groups, concentrating its efforts on fending off reform of the General Mining Law of 1872. Notorious for being funded by mining companies, it facnies itself more grassrootsy than Greenpeace. Much in the news lately for recruiting as members several conservative western Congressmen including Helen Chenowith of Idaho (she prefers to be called a Congressman; don't blame me). The Hon. Chenowith serves on the House Resources Committee and scoffed when asked whether membership in PfW might not be proper.

5. National Endangered Species Act Reform Coalition, and the dot-org at the end of the coalition's website address can only make you wonder, org generally referring to nonprofits. This is a powerful force pushing for what it calls reform and others call evisceration of the Endangered Species Act. Its members include power companies, utilities, farm bureaus, the American Petroleum Institute, water agencies, a real Who's Who of natural-resource companies. At least the Coalition is frank enough to list all its members.

Tom Turner is staff writer and director of publications for the Earthjustice (formerly Sierra Club) Legal Defense Fund in San Francisco.