URGENT: Call your Representative and Senators Now:  Vote NO on HR 1904

You can reach your Representative and Senators toll free at 1-800-839-5276
or by calling the Capital Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

The so-called "Healthy Forests and Restoration Act of 2003"  (HR 1904) just
passed in conference.  The conference report most likely will be voted on by
the House tomorrow and could possibly go to the Senate floor as early as
tonight!

Take Action: Tell your Representative and Senators that this conference deal
will do nothing to protect communities from wildfire or our currently
healthy forests including mature and old growth forests and roadless areas.
The conference deal will significantly undermine necessary environmental
review, cut American's out of decisions affecting their public lands, slam
the courthouse door on the American public, and significantly increase
logging on National Forest and BLM lands.

Please call our Senators *now*--they should hear loud and clear that this is
not the bill that they voted for on October 30, 2003, and is in fact worse.
Also, our Senators should hear that the "deal" has not been upheld in
conference and they should stand up and stop the so-called HR 1904 "Healthy
Forests and Restoration Act" conference report from passing the Senate.

Please call your Representative (especially Boswell and Leach) and tell them
to vote NO on the so-called HR 1904 "Healthy Forests and Restoration Act"
Conference Report

The "informal" conference bill has changed from the Senate version in the
following significant ways:

.The conference bill expands the size of the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI)
to 1.5 miles. This means that fuels reduction work and federal funding is
not required to be concentrated directly around homes and communities.

.The conference bill further weakens environmental review under the National
Environmental Policy Act.  The Forest Service and BLM are not required to
consider any alternatives other than the 'proposed action alternative' if
the project is located within 1.5 miles of a community.

.The conference bill further restricts the public's ability to appeal Forest
Service decisions on hazardous fuel projects.  While the Senate bill
replaced the current Forest Service appeals process with an undefined
"pre-decisional administrative process," the conference bill further limits
public participation in the administrative process to persons who have
previously submitted "specific written comments" on the project.

I know that all of you have made so many calls this year (thank you!) but it
is absolutely critical that you call your Representative and Senators right
now and tell them to vote against the conference report on HR 1904 "the
Healthy Forests and Restoration Act of 2003."  Both the House and Senate
could be taking a roll-call vote and we need to make sure that we get
Members of Congress to stand up and vote against this terrible bill.

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