From: alra@governance.net Subject: Healthy Forests Ag Mark-Up (Vote) Thursday, July 24th 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 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 Ag Mark-Up (Vote) Thursday, July 24th Agriculture Committee Markup on Thursday, July 24 The Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry will conduct a business meeting on Thursday, July 24, 2003 at 11:00 a.m. in SR-328A to markup H.R. 1904, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003. Attendance and votes will be recorded for this meeting. Hundreds of homes have been lost in Arizona. More have burned in other states. The time for Congress to fiddle while the West burns is over. You must contact both your OWN Senators to urge their support for the HR 1904 BEFORE THURSDAY. The Enviro Groups are staging an all out call-in to all Senate offices on Wednesday, July 23rd. You must challenge them. You must give them some competition. All who support the Healthy Forest Restoration Act must call and fax your Congressman Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, July 22nd to July 24th. THIS IS AN ALL OUT CALL TO ACTION. You can call every Senator at (202) 224-3121. Or, just for fun, use the GREENS own 800 FREE NUMBER, 800-839-5276. Tie this number up. 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. EVERY SENATOR MUST BE CALLED TO BALANCE OUT THE GREENS. The Senate Agriculture Committee will now hold their mark-up on the Healthy Forests Restoration Act on July 24th. It passed the House in May. It does not have a Senate number. It will go by HR 1904, the number used in the House. The key Senators below still need to receive overwhelming calls and faxes immediately to urge them to support the Healthy Forests Restoration Act. CALL and FAX TODAY! Your action is needed now! You own Senators PLUS these Senators must hear from you Tuesday, Wednesday AND Thursday. Ask them to pass this legislation from the Agriculture Committee now! We can’t afford to gamble on losing more water and wildlife by debating and stalling this issue any longer. Call and FAX the following Senators to urge them to support HR 1904 in the Senate Agriculture Committee Vote Thursday, July 24th. Also call and fax the Senators from your own state. Max Baucus (D-MT) -- Phone (202) 224-2651 – FAX (202) 228-3687 Norm Coleman (R-MN) – Phone (202) 224-5641 – FAX (202) 224-1152 Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL) – Phone (202) 224-2854 – FAX (202) 228-1372 Mark Dayton (D-MN) – Phone (202) 224-3244 – FAX (202) 228-2186 Kent Conrad (D-ND) – Phone (202) 224-2043 – FAX (202) 224-7776 Byron Dorgan (D-ND) – Phone (202) 224-2551—FAX (202) 224-1193 Tom Daschle (D-SD – Phone (202) 224-2321 – FAX (202) 224-6603 Tim Johnson (D-SD – Phone (202) 224-5842 – FAX (202) 228-5765 Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) – Phone (202) 224-4843 – FAX (202) 228-1371 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. *****ACTION ITEM SUMMARY***** -----1. AGAIN, YOU CAN DEFEAT THE GREENS CALL-IN. YOU DID IT A WEEK AGO, YOU CAN DO IT AGAIN. Every recipient of this message should call both their Senators Tuesday, July 22nd, Wednesday, July 23rd and early Thursday, July 24th. Urge them to support the Healthy Forests Restoration Act, HR 1904. All Senators must receive faxes also. -----2. Those Senators listed below must receive overwhelming calls and faxes urging them to support the Healthy Forests Restoration Act in the Agriculture Committee. -----3. The Mark-up in the Senate Agriculture Committee is now set for Thursday, July 24th. Make sure you emphasize to your Senators that no matter whether they are on the Agriculture Committee or now, they must support the Healthy Forests Restoration Act. If your Senator is not on the Ag Committee, urge him to call Committee Members to express his or her support for the Healthy Forests Restoration Act. Thanks for your continued help and support. 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