10/13/05 The Grinch steals Capitol Holiday Tree?

The holiday season is right the corner and the "grinch" is already attempting to thwart it. This season Mr. Grinch, a radical environmentalist, is striking in a big way, at our national icon, the Capitol Christmas Tree. The 40 year tradition of choosing a Capitol Christmas tree from different national forests to grace the White house lawn is under attack thanks to scrooges at the Sierra Club, the Earth Institute, Sequoia Forestkeeper, Heartwood, and the Centre for Biological Diversity. They have joined in unison to file a lawsuit that will prohibit using streamlined regulations to pass many local recreational activities we all enjoy, like mountain bike tours, scouting hikes and back country horse events. The anti-recreation lawsuit will not only require forest activities to file a formal notice it ties the Capitol Holiday Tree program up in red tape. So when you receive your annual holiday donation letter from these groups, tell them what they can do their stamps, nobody supports the Grinch that wants to steal Christmas. Source: Blueribbon Coalition a www.sharetrails.org