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Protect Our National Forests - Oppose HR 4200
This week, the Senate Agriculture Committee will review and vote on a bill, HR 4200, that could cause serious harm to the long-term health of our public forests. The Senate is considering linking HR 4200 with funding for the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act (County Payments Act) and including this combination in the Department of Defense bill. The Senate needs to know that this is not OK.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Let your Senators know that you oppose this bill. You may edit our letter below, then click on "Send this Message."
For more information, click on the "Tell me more" link.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Please Oppose H.R. 4200
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
Our public lands are valued for providing rich habitats for fish and wildlife clean drinking water for our communities, and unparalleled recreational opportunities for our families -- for now and into the future.
HR 4200 is an unnecessary bill that would cause serious harm to the long term health of our public forests.
Not only would this bill exclude the public from decisions regarding the management of these public lands, it ignores important scientific research, threatens the Endangered Species Act, could increase the risk of wildfire and leaves roadless areas, old growth forests, and other special areas unprotected.
I value the long term health and vitality of our public lands, and I value the opportunity to fully participate in decisions regarding the management of these lands.
Please do not undermine the values for which our National Forests should be managed, curtail my right to participate in the decision-making process, or cause undue harm to the long term health of these public lands. Please oppose HR 4200.
In addition, please oppose any action which would combine HR 4200 with the Secure Rural School and Self Determination Act.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the issues affecting the management of public national forests.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
September 17, 2006
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The week of September 17th, the Senate Agriculture Committee will review and vote on a bill, HR 4200, that could cause serious harm to the long-term health of our public forests. The Senate is considering linking HR 4200 with funding for the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act (County Payments Act) and including this combination in the Department of Defense bill. The Senate needs to know that this is not OK.
The bill would exclude the public from decisions regarding the management of our public lands. It also ignores important scientific research, threatens the Endangered Species Act, and leaves roadless areas, ancient forests, and other special areas unprotected. Additionally, attaching this bill to rural schools does not create a reliable and source of funding.
Please ask your Senators to *OPPOSE* HR 4200 and *OPPOSE* any action that would lead to a rider that combines HR 4200 to rural schools; our natural heritage and schools deserve better.
What's at Stake
Our public forests, when left to their natural cycles, are a thriving and diverse home to an endless array of wildlife, fish, and spectacular old growth stands. We treasure these roadless wildlands as places to camp, hunt, fish and hike, and we depend on these places for fresh water and clean air.
Almost 600 renowned scientists have stated that after events such as wildfire, nature knows best about how forests should recover.
H.R. 4200 would permit aggressive salvage logging operations on federal lands that would degrade valuable fish and wildlife habitats. Logging after fires and other natural disturbances can be harmful to recovering forests, damaging water quality and the fish and wildlife that depend on them.
What's the Threat?
HR 4200 will change the way our public forests are managed. These national forests should be managed to benefit all of us -- for clean water, wildlife habitat, and recreation for our families. Instead, HR 4200 would make it easier to implement harmful logging after fires and other natural events. Science clearly shows that forests recover best after such events when left alone, and that logging and other related activities hurt, rather help, this recovery.
The legislation would also exclude the public from decisions regarding the management of our public lands, would remove protections for roadless areas and old growth forests, and would waive the Endangered Species Act for logging on an unlimited number of acres across the country.
Unfortunately, HR 4200 passed the House in May. However, with your help, the vote margin was narrow, indicating the controversy surrounding this bill. It is critically important that we now stop this legislation in the Senate.
Finally, promising schools that they will receive funding from HR 4200 is insincere. Based on a Congressional Budget Office’s Cost Estimate , it is estimated that HR 4200 may generate approximately $3.4 million per year. This is negligible compared to what these schools require; for example, rural schools received a total of $394 million last year. The proponents of HR4200 are attempting to gain more support by creating an unfair link between logging our forests and funding rural schools. In the end, they can neither ensure that HR 4200 will generate nor meet anywhere close to the needs of rural schools.
You Can Help
Please take a moment to tell your Senator to vote *NO* on HR 4200 in the Senate Agriculture Committee and *NO* to linking HR 4200 to rural school funding.
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