From: alra@governance.net Subject: Healthy Forests – Urgent Action Required Land Rights Network American Land Rights Association PO Box 400 – Battle Ground, WA 98604 Phone: 360-687-3087 – Fax: 360-687-2973 – E-mail: alra@landrights.org or alra@governance.net Web Address: http://www.landrights.org Legislative Office: 507 Seward Square SE – Washington, DC 20003 Phone: 202-210-2357 – Fax: 202-543-7126 – E-mail: landrightsnet@aol.com Healthy Forests – Urgent Action Required Call both your Senators now! The Healthy Forests Restoration Act will come to a vote this coming week. Call each day Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Sneak Attack on Roadless Rule Planned by Senators Bingaman and Leahy. Sometime early next week...the week of October 20th...the U.S. Senate will vote on the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HR 1904). In recent days, there has been some behind the scenes activity that could kill this important legislation. For weeks, key members of the Senate and their staff members have been working out compromise language with the Bush Administration. Just last week, a small group of Senators including Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Diane Feinstein (D-CA) sent out a letter with several other Senate signatures basically telling the Administration and the House leadership that the language adopted in the Senate negotiations was the ONLY language that would pass the Senate on a floor vote. It was more or less a "take it or leave it" type message to the House -- who passed the bill with strong bi-partisan support back in May. In just the past few days, Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) have indicated they will offer an amendment to codify the Clinton Roadless language into the Healthy Forests legislation. This is effect would kill the bill because there is no way the House would accept such language (thankfully!). These Senators who said the House must "take it or leave it" as it comes from the Senate, are now not willing to stand up and defend their own demand and vote to defeat the Roadless Amendment out of fear of environmental political pressure. WHAT YOU SHOULD DO? Call your US Senators today. Ask them to: -----1. Support the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HR 1904) that was agreed upon by Senators Wyden, Feinstein, Lincoln, Cochran, Craig, Crapo and Domenici. -----2. Tell them to not break the pledge and promise of the Senate negotiators – Urge Them Not To Support The Roadless Amendment. -----3. Congress has worked hard on this important legislation that would help better protect our federal and private forestlands from the effects of catastrophic fires that destroy water, wildlife habitat, and fill our air with smoke. Don't let this bill be killed by an inside effort of a few Senators who don't want it to pass. Call your Senators today and again Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Tell them that any delay in passing the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HR 1904) means more fiddling while our forests burn. You can call every Senator at (202) 224-3121. Or, just for fun, use the GREENS own 800 FREE NUMBER, 800-839-5276. Another FREE NUMBER is (800) 648-3516. It is possible to access your Senators' web pages to find fax numbers, email addresses and snail mail addresses at: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm. Call your Friends. Call your Neighbors. This must be a grassroots uprising. Hundreds of homes have been lost in Arizona. More have burned in other states. The time Congress to fiddle while the West burns is over. You must contact both your OWN Senators to urge their support for the HR 1904 NOW. The Enviro Groups are staging an all out call-in to all Senate offices. Don’t let them win because you failed to do your part. Please make your calls. Background: Congress is now addressing the forest health issue through The Healthy Forests Restoration Act. The premise of the debate is simple and clear: Given the massive scale of the threat that catastrophic wildfire and disease and insect infestation pose to the health of pristine forest ecosystems, threatened and endangered species, air quality, water quality and the safety of thousands of communities, something needs to be done! America’s forest ecosystems are being decimated at an alarming rate by large-scale catastrophic wildfires and massive outbreaks of disease, insect infestation and invasive species. Currently 190 million acres of land are at unnatural risk to catastrophic wildfire. Of that, over 70 million acres are at extreme risk to catastrophic wildfire in the immediate future. The summers of 2000 and 2002 were the two largest and most-destructive fire seasons in the last 50 years. For 100 years land managers have aggressively moved to suppress wildland fire in all forms, including nature’s periodic small scale burnings that restore and rejuvenate forest ecosystems. The unintended result of this policy is a decades-long build up forest fuel, woody biomass and dense underbrush that's as close as the next lightning strike or escaped camp fire from exploding into a large-scale wildfire. In 2002, hundreds of homes and other structures were destroyed, and thousands of people were evacuated. 23 firefighters lost their lives. The American taxpayers spent in excess of $1.5 billion containing 2002’s record setting blazes. Rural economies that rely on tourism suffered significant financial losses. Congress is now addressing the forest health issue through The Healthy Forests Restoration Act. The premise of the debate is simple and clear: Given the massive scale of the threat that catastrophic wildfire and disease and insect infestation pose to the health of pristine forest ecosystems, threatened and endangered species, air quality, water quality and the safety of thousands of communities, something needs to be done! The Healthy Forests Restoration Act will protect forests and resources…but also homes and communities by allowing for the thinning of diseased and fire-prone forests. We must bring common-sense, science-based forest management to our federal lands….and stop the never-ending stall tactics and litigation which has crippled the process for the past decade. The bill would empower federal land managers with the tools to implement scientifically supported management practices on overstocked federal forests, while establishing new conservation programs focused on improving water quality and regenerating declining forest ecosystem types on non-federal lands. This legislation is crucial for protecting our air, water and wildlife from insect infestations and catastrophic wildfires. The status quo of government bureaucracy has lead to a sharp decline in the health of the forests. Please forward this message as widely as possible!! -- To unsubscribe from this mailing list; please visit http://governance.net and enter your email address.