The creation of a new Forest Restoration Corps, to be funded by cutting US$100m in annual government subsidies to the timber industry, has been proposed by Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.
The proposal involves using money previously earmarked for commercial logging operations to restore forests mismanaged or damaged by wildfires.
A statement from the Kerry-Edwards campaign said the programme was a “balanced” forest management plan, unlike the Bush administration’s “one-sided approach” benefiting timber companies.
The Bush-Cheney campaign dismissed the proposal as politics aimed at garnering support among environmentalists.
