ACTION ALERT!!!
Administration to reverse more than two decades of land conservation by
proposing to sell off lands within our national forests !
The Bush Administration has proposed a budget initiative that asks Congress to allow the US Forest Service (USFS) to auction 307,000 acres of public lands around the country to fund a program that subsidizes schools and other community projects in timber counties. The USFS list of parcels adds up to 9,828 acres of forestlands in North Carolina, including more than 6,500 acres in the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests. Uwharrie and Croatan National Forests would also lose tracts under this plan.
The Forest Service has proposed selling the land to offset the cost of reauthorizing the Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. Under this bill, communities get more than $800 million in federal aid as a way to offset losses from the decline in timber sales on federal land.
Conservation groups, state and federal agencies have spent decades and
hundreds of millions of dollars to buy important forest lands to add to our
National Forests. These vital areas provide wildlife habitat, outdoor
recreation opportunities, and act as buffers for rivers and streams. To propose selling off public lands in exchange
for a program that can be paid for by other more prudent means is simply
irresponsible -- it is wrong to start selling America’s heritage at a time when
development is eating away 200 acres of rural land every day!
We need your help – contact Congress! Let them know that you
- strongly oppose the sale of land within our national forests.
http://www.senate.gov/ to
find your Senators
22 South Pack Square, Suite 330
Asheville, NC 28801
828-251-1988
Let him know:
- USFS should be working to fill in the gaps between its isolated parcels
and main woodlands rather than divesting itself of detached tracts.