**Date**
Re: "Act to Save America's Forests"
Dear Senator/Representative,
America's most precious remaining forest ecosystems are being destroyed
by clearcutting in our National Forests. Logging is occurring in groves of centuries-old
trees and in our last remaining wild and roadless forests. We must stop this carnage
before America's original forests are gone forever.
Please cosponsor the Act to Save America’s Forests. The
House version, sponsored by Representatives Anna Eshoo and Carolyn Maloney,
was supported last year by 135 representatives. The Senate version, sponsored by Senator Robert
Torricelli and John Kerry, was supported last year by 6 Senators.
The Act will finally end logging in all the
remaining Northwest Ancient Forests, end logging in all our remaining
roadless forests, and end logging in "special" forest areas
throughout our federal forest system, such as the giant Sequoia forests in California, the
Sipsey wilderness in Alabama, the Lullaby White Pine Reserve in Minnesota, and the Robert
Frost forest in Vermont. In addition, the Act will ban destructive
clearcutting in our National Forests.
The Act to Save America's Forests is based on the principles of conservation biology.
It would make the protection of native biodiversity the primary goal of federal forest
management agencies. The bill would protect over 20 million acres of core forest areas
throughout the nation, including Ancient Forests, roadless areas, key watersheds, and
other special areas. It is a comprehensive, sustainable, and ecologically-sound plan for
protecting and restoring the entire federal forest system.
Once, 1 billion acres of towering forests stretched across America. Today, less than
five percent of America's original forests remain. It is remarkable that the U.S. still
has that much old-growth left after more than a century of government subsidies for
ruthless logging practices on federal lands. These forests remain the prime targets of the
timber industry and the U.S. Forest Service, which have consistently converted America's
natural forests into sterile tree farms or barren wastelands. The survival of native
species of plants, mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles are threatened as these
last native forests are logged.
If the current pace of logging planned by the Forest Service continues, nearly all of
America's ancient and roadless wild forests will soon be lost forever. According to a
recent report by the World Resources Institute, only one percent of the original forest
cover remains in large blocks within the lower 48 states. The Act to Save America's
Forests incorporates the solution recommended by the report, namely to protect core forest
areas from any logging and to allow sustainable forest practices around these protected
forests. Endorsed by over 600 leading scientists, this bill may be the last hope
for America's forests.
The people of this state and this nation want to protect the precious few forests we
have left. We owe it to our children, and all future generations, to provide them the
opportunity to enjoy the natural grandeur of an ancient forest and revel in the splendor
of native biodiversity. When the Act to Save America's Forests become law, Americans will
secure these wonders for future generations.
I hope you will add your name to the list of cosponsors of
the Act to Save America's Forests, if you have not done so already. I urge you to cosponsor this important legislation
today, and I look forward to hearing your position on this issue.
Sincerely,
[Your Name or Organization]
[Address]