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 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT to [log in to unmask]