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Save our Open Space
America is losing 6,000 acres of open space each day. The Forest Service has identified loss of open space as one of the four major threats to public and private American forestland. Such development threatens our nation's ability to manage public lands to maintain healthy forests for wildlife habitat, clean drinking water, and public recreation.
The agency has decided to tackle the problem, and is asking the public to weigh in. Please use the letter below - edit as you see fit - to let the agency know how important this issue is.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Open Space Conservation Strategy
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Forest Service's Open Space Strategy.
I am highly concerned about recent estimates that indicate sharp increases in development of forests and other open spaces over the next 30 years. I appreciate that the Forest Service is addressing this problem as an effort to maintain special forestland for current and future generations.
One of the key actions the Forest Service can take to conserve open spaces is to recommend that Congress fully fund the Land & Water Conservation Fund at $900 million annually, and to fund the Forest Legacy Program at $200 million annually. Adequate funding for such programs would go a long way toward purchasing private in-holdings within national forest boundaries and assisting states in conserving threatened private forestlands through the purchase of lands or development rights from willing landowners.
Additionally, the Forest Service should take special action to address the immediate impacts of development on National Forest System lands. Through existing programs, the Forest Service can mitigate negative impacts of development through activities that would encourage natural ecological processes. Activities would include wilderness recommendations, roadless area conservation, fish and wildlife management, and road decommissioning and enforcement, among many others.
Thank you for considering my views on the critical importance of protecting our nation's forests and open spaces.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
December 04, 2006
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According to the U.S. Forest Service's recently released report "Cooperating
Across Boundaries-Partnerships to Conserve Open Space in Rural America," we
lose 6,000 acres of open space each day, or four acres per minute.
(www.fs.fed.us/projects/four-threats/documents/cooperatingacrossboundaries).
The report also warns that as the rate of land development outpaces population growth, we lose not only our ability to manage public lands to maintain healthy forests and public recreation, we also lose critical ecosystem services such as wildlife habitat and clean drinking water. The fastest growing areas include the South, Northeast, Rocky Mountain West, Upper Great Lakes, and Ozarks. In all these places, our remaining forests are particularly vulnerable, according to the report, with areas around national forests experiencing some of the highest growth rates.
Additional findings of the report include:
- From 1982 to 2001, the U.S. has lost 34 million acres of open space - an area the size of Illinois.
- The Forest Service projects that by 2020 the U.S. will have lost 64 million acres of open space - an area the size of Colorado.
- 10 million acres of forests lost to development from 1982 to 1997.
- 26 million additional acres of forests expected to be lost to development by 2030 - close to an area the size of Tennessee.
- 57 percent of U.S. forest lands are privately owned and unprotected from development.
The Forest Service is requesting comments from American citizens to address the problem of open space loss.
Please take this unique opportunity to advise the Forest Service on how to conserve open space.
The deadline is currently December 13, 2006.
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