by: Donna Liquori (AP)
Singer Natalie Merchant, who has spearheaded a campaign to save the forest she grew up near in Western New York, called on state lawmakers Friday to prevent commercial logging in all state parks.
Joined by environmentalists and Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, D-Buffalo, Merchant urged legislators to follow up on Gov. Pataki's announcement last weekend that he was rejecting a plan to allow commercial logging in Allegany State Park by banning the practice in all state parks.
Merchant stammered a bit when she first took the podium and said she was a far better singer than she was a public speaker. She said she learned of the issue through a letter from Hoyt.
"The scenario of chain saws, logging roads, soil corrosion and chemical herbicide will now hopefully never materialize in Allegany State Park now that Gov. Pataki has rejected the master plan for that park," she said in a news conference.
"My childhood was spent playing in the streams, meadows, forests of Allegany State Park. And as an adult, I've experienced solitude and tranquility... among the oak, cherry maple and hemlock trees."
Merchant grew up in Jamestown in Chautauqua County and gained fame as the singer and lyricist for a hometown band, the 10,000 Maniacs. Now a solo artist, Merchant had a concert scheduled Friday night in Albany.
Environmentalists produced petitions Friday against commercial logging which they said contained the signatures of about 85,000 people. Some of the signatures were collected on Merchant's current concert tour, including an appearance this week in Buffalo.
The Empire State Forest Products Association, which represents logging companies, said Friday that limited logging would have been beneficial to Allegany State Park.
"The decision not to manage the land and harvest mature trees ends a long tradition that benefited the environment of the park and the local economy," said Kevin King, the executive vice president of the association.
"Perhaps more important than what the governor said is what he did not say," Hoyt said. Regardless of the governor's personal intentions not to allow logging, it could still happen after he leaves, Hoyt said.
Pataki spokesman Michael McKeon has said that any tree-clearing would occur only if were appropriate.
"The governor will take a look at the legislation if and when it lands on his desk," McKeon said Friday, adding that a review of all state parks has begun.