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AUDUBON SOCIETY 
Gield Museum of Natural MHistory 
ESTABLISHED 1897 ROOSEVELT ROAD AND LAKE SHORE DRIVE - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60605 

ORGANIZED FOR HE PROTECTION OF WILD BIRDS AND 
THE PRESERVATION OF OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT 
AUDUBON NEWSLETTER 
RTT NG 
WoL. 38, Now 1 Judith Joy-Editor Ucrover 19pg oT. 


VIOLENCE IN AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL sical 
: ; ’ , PMMERSTY AE TLLINDIS 
Much has been said in recent weeks and months about "violence" in America: 
Far too little has been said and written about a violence of another sort - 
the destruction of our natural environment by powerful social, economic and 
political interests. This is the kind done by "respectable people", 
The 90th Congress has passed few conservation bills of major importance, 
compared to the previous session, which was lauded as the "Conservation Cong- 
ress. The present session has passed a Redwoods National Park Bill of Over 
58,000 acres, several thousand acres of which are already protected by, Cali-— 
fornia state law. Where 2 million acres of Redwoods once stood, only 230,000 
acres now remain, This too,+is violence. The Cohelan bill provided for a 
Redwoods National Park of over 90,000 acres. It lost. No money. This Cong- 
ress passed and President Johnson signed, a federal highway act which insures 
the future destruction of local parks, wildlife refuges and historic sites 
by the bulldozer. The new act eliminates several strong sections in previous 
legislation. This too, is violence. Lots of money. 
Here in Illinois, though the Illinois Building Authority voted 5 to 1 to 
purchase the Goose Lake Prairie area in Grundy County as a state park, some 
business interests in the state, including US Steel Co. and its Subsidiaries, 
declare that they will fight this effort in the courts and in the legislature. 
[penis too, is violence. 
| 
‘Despite the plea of Sen. William Proxmire of Wisconsin before the Senate Appro- 
-Priations Committee to help protect Allerton Park, it voted $2,000,000 on re- 
“Quest of Sen. Everett Dirksen for the Oakley Dam project, who declared that 
"the project is justified in every way". Proxmire called it a "pork-barrel", 
The Illinois House Executive Committee voted down a bill to remove the re- 
quirement that state institutions use Illinois mined COat se sili 1S Loi stl 
)}sulphuric dioxide content which contributes to a high air pollution count. 
This is violence. In California, about 25,000 acres of Ponderosa pine trees 
in San Bernardino National Forest near Los Angeles are threatened by a smog 
disease for which no known cure exists. The ozone content of the smog is 
responsible for the pine needles turning yellow, with later loss of trees. 
This too, is violence. 
Violence to the natural scene is destroying America, the Beautiful. HO1 BURRILL Hay 

eee Raymond Mostek, President, IAS 

