Mark Rey
Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment, Department of Agriculture

Then: One of the nation's foremost timber lobbyists, Rey spent twenty years working for timber industry organizations such as the National Forest Products Association, the American Paper Institute, and the American Forest Resources Alliance. He also served as a Vice President of the American Forest and Paper Association, a leading advocate of logging in national forests.

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In 1995, as a professional staff member to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee, Rey authored the infamous "salvage" timber rider, which suspended all environmental laws guarding old growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. Rey also authored Senator Larry Craig's (R-ID) version of the National Forest Management Act, lifting the language of the bill directly from the American Forest and Paper Association's industry-promoting recommendations to the House resource committee. The bill eliminated citizen oversight committees and other environmental safeguards.

Rey was a featured speaker in both 1996 and 1998 at the "Fly In for Freedom" event held by the "Wise-Use" organization, Alliance for America. Ron Arnold, a founding member of the "Wise-Use" movement explained its mission as follows: "Our goal is to destroy, to eradicate the environmental movement. We want to be able to exploit the environment for private gain, absolutely."

Now: As the administration's top forestry official, Rey has been a key force behind two administration measures benefiting timber companies -- the "Healthy Forests" initiative to accelerate logging in wildfire-prone areas, and the decision to grant exemptions to the ban on logging in roadless areas of national forests. Both would allow loggers to cut bigger trees in areas such as the Tongass National Forest and the Giant Sequoia National Monument. "Put simply," Rey has said, "We should start with the premise that a policy cannot be good for the environment if it is bad for people."

© 2003 The Foundation for National Progress

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