This affects the whole Country. For your area see here.
This is a Map of North Carolina National Forest
land
This is what
the Bush Administration wants to do
with Your Forest
“The FY 2007 President’s Budget proposes to reauthorize the Secure
Rural Schools program for another five years. To help fund this
initiative, the Administration recommends selling a limited number of
acres of National Forest System lands around the nation.” Link
Almost 10, 000 Acres of North Carolina Land will be Sold Off in the Croatan, Uwharrie, Pigsah, and Nantahala Forests. Link
This is what People Think about the Land Giveaway
“This approach to paying the country’s bills by selling off national heritage (is wrong.) Conceptually, this is not the right way to balance your budget,” said David McNaught, a senior policy analyst with Environmental Defense in Raleigh.
“This has a tremendous disproportionate effect on North Carolina,” she said.
By proportion, North Carolina and South Carolina would lose more federal forestland than neighboring states. via Link
“It just shocked me. I can’t believe they would go this far, to sell our national forests,” said Joan Mathis of Arden. “I just think that’s something that has been preserved down through the years. It’s something that we treasure.” Link
But the land is not the president’s to sell. It didn’t belong to him when he embarked on a quest to open roadless areas to logging and oil and gas drilling. And he certainly doesn’t hold the title to the 300,000 acres, 5,717 of them in Virginia, that he plans to auction at his rummage sale. Link
“Between the Interior Department’s widely panned rewrite of the NPS rulebook and the new Pombo plan to sell off about one out every four acres in the National Park System, it now appears clear that there is a full-scale assault being waged today by Washington against our national parks. As the people who have dedicated their professional lives to preserving America’s crown jewels of the outdoors for future generations, the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees is today calling for a cease fire in the war against our national parks.” CNPSR ( The Coalition of National Park Service Retirees )
The U.S. Forest Service says the sales are needed to pay for rural roads and schools, expenses that have been covered by selling timber from federal land. But it’s not the reliable source of revenue schools need. Restrictions on logging have reduced those payments in recent years, and they’ll dry up altogether later this year when the 2000 law they were based on is set to expire.
“Yet selling parcels of forest land, ranging in size from less than an acre to more than 1,000 acres, to meet ongoing expenses can only be a short-lived strategy. Those parcels are sold once, while the students keep coming.” Link
There will be a Thirty Day Period for Citizen Response
DATES: You should submit your
comments by March 30, 2006 to be
assured of consideration. Comments
received after that date will be
considered only to the extent
practicable.
ADDRESSES: You may submit your
comments by e-mail to
email, by facsimile
to (202) 205-1604, or by mail to USDA
Forest Service, SRS Comments, Lands
4S, 1400 Independence Ave., SW.,
Mailstop 1124, Washington, DC 20250-
0003. Electronic submission is preferred.
If you submit your comments by e-mail
or fax, you do not need to send a paper
copy by mail.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Cynthia R. Swanson, Assistant Director
of Lands, Washington Office, 202-205-
0099. Individuals who use
telecommunication devices for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern
Standard Time, Monday through Friday.
These are Your North Carolina Elected officials
Member Name – DC Phone – DC FAX – Email
Senator Elizabeth Dole (R- NC) 202-224-6342 202-224-1100 link
Senator Richard Burr (R- NC) 202-224-3154 202-228-2981 link
Representative G. K. Butterfield, Jr. (D – 01) 202-225-3101 202-225-3354 link
Representative Bobby Etheridge (D – 02) 202-225-4531 202-225-5662 link
Representative Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R – 03) 202-225-3415 202-225-3286 link
Representative David E. Price (D – 04) 202-225-1784 202-225-2014 link
Representative Virginia Foxx (R – 05) 202-225-2071 202-225-2995 link
Representative Howard Coble (R – 06) 202-225-3065 202-225-8611 link
Representative Mike McIntyre (D – 07) 202-225-2731 202-225-5773 link
Representative Robert (Robin) Hayes (R – 08) 202-225-3715 202-225-4036 link
Representative Sue Myrick (R – 09) 202-225-1976 202-225-3389 link
Representative Patrick McHenry (R – 10) 202-225-2576 202-225-0316 link
Representative Charles H. Taylor (R – 11) 202-225-6401 202-226-6422 link
Representative Melvin L. Watt (D – 12) 202-225-1510 202-225-1512 link
Representative Brad Miller (D – 13) 202-225-3032 202-225-0181 link
