HIKING GROUPS ASK CONGRESS TO PROTECT EASTERN MOUNTAINS FROM ACID RAIN

For Release: IMMEDIATELY

Contact: Neil Woodworth

(518) 449-3870

Today, the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) and the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference ask Congress to swiftly pass legislation, S.172 (Moynihan, Schumer)/H.R. 25 (Boehlert, Sweeney), to greatly reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from power plants and utilities.

"The scourge of acid rain is not limited to killing lakes in the Adirondacks. Now we know it is poisoning eastern mountain and forest soils," said Neil Woodworth, Counsel to ADK and the Trail Conference.

The modern equivalent of salting the fields of Carthage, a 1999 report released by the U.S. Geological Survey revealed that acid rain chemically alters forest soils, decreasing the availability of calcium and releasing aluminum. The replacement of calcium by aluminum in tree nutrient uptake is very harmful to tree growth and survival. The reduced resistance of maple and spruce trees to insects and winter kill has been traced to calcium depletion. Unless Congress acts swiftly, the impact of these soil chemistry changes may be cumulative and irreversible.

Accordingly, ADK and the Trail Conference ask Congress to act this session to pass H.R.25/S.172 before the fragile mountain forests and soils of the Adirondacks, Catskills, Hudson Highlands and Appalachian Mountains are altered for generations, perhaps forever.

Congressional action now is imperative following the very recent federal court ruling (U.S. Court of Appeals) striking down new air quality standards issued by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency in 1997.

United in partnership, the Adirondack Mountain Club and the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference are dedicated to conservation, education, outdoor recreation and protection of the New York's Forest Preserve, parks, wild lands and waters. Together, they represent over 70 clubs and over 100,000 hikers, paddlers, skiers, and backpackers

Last updated: 01/18/01