Call NOW and Urge Your Senator to Protect Forests, Not End Laws
You Can Reach Your Senators Through the Capitol Hill Switchboard
at (202)224-3121 -- Call Thursday and Friday.

The US Senate has spent three weeks in gridlock discussing the
Interior funding bill while the logging industry and their allies
have tried every hook, angle and manner to eliminate important National
Forest laws. A vote to eliminate citizen involvement and agency
responsibility could occur as early as Thursday morning and your help is
needed!

The industry's best friend, Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), has an awful
amendment that would set forest management back four decades but he
doesn't have the 60 votes needed to pass a controversial amendment.
So, he's on the prowl to cut a deal and it seems a few Democratic
Senators may take the bait. Pressure is now mounting for a lousy
compromise led by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D- CA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR)
that appears to include limits on judicial review, encouraging salvage
logging instead of community protection, allowing new road construction,
and the extensive use of categorical exclusions to speed projects and
limit public involvement.

Thousands of Americans have worked hard to protect wild forests, increase
Forest Service accountability and stop the waste, fraud and abuse of the
federal logging program.  Now is not the time to let the industry steamroll
forest protections and the most basic rights of citizens under the guise of
forest fire prevention. These are the public's forests, the public has a
voice
that needs to be heard!


Please contact your Senators and urge them to:

1) Oppose the Craig Amendment to Interior Appropriations
2) Oppose any amendment that limits on judicial review
3) Prohibit salvage logging or an emphasis on logging "areas subject to
catastrophic reburn"
4) Prohibit ALL new road construction
5) Prohibit the use of categorical exclusions outside of the community
protection zone
6) Support real community protection that focuses all hazardous fuel
treatments within one-quarter mile of communities.

You Can Reach Your Senators Through the Capitol Hill Switchboard
at (202)224-3121 -- Call today, Thursday and Friday.

Tell them now is the time for leadership and urge them to stand up for
protection of communities, National Forests and the basic right of citizens
to be involved in the management of public land.

Senators are negotiating now. You should be calling them. Thanks for all
your efforts.

For more information on a responsible fire management plan that protects
communities and provides solutions see www.sierraclub.org

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