Speak out now to save region's fragile forests

[montana500]

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http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/stories/20060330/opinion/81799.shtml

"Throughout the 20th century, government officials joined environmentalists in trying to restore and preserve Georgia's mountain forests. Now the opposite is taking place.

Forest service spokespersons tell us that the parcels proposed for sale are isolated and surrounded by private property. If the land is providing greenspace in a developed area, we can think of no better reason why the land should not be sold. Also, isolated land heretofore has been swapped for private land that adjoins and enhances the public forest.

The four living former U.S. Forest Service chiefs have written every member of Congress opposing the sale as a dangerous precedent. It is against the National Forest Management Act of 1976, which amended Section 11 of the Forest and Rangelands Renewable Resources Act and states, "no land now or hereafter reserved or withdrawn from the public domain as National Forests pursuant to the Act of March 3, 1891 or an act supplementary thereto ... shall be returned to the public domain except by an act of Congress." Signing the letter were R. Max Peterson, F. Dale Robertson, Jack Ward Thomas and Michael Dombeck. "