From: [email protected] Subject: Senate Still Fiddling On Healthy Forests Land Rights Network American Land Rights Association PO Box 400 – Battle Ground, WA 98604 Phone: 360-687-3087 – Fax: 360-687-2973 – E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] 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: [email protected] Senate Still Fiddling On Healthy Forests The fires are still going. But the season is coming to a close. Out of sight, out of mind. To begin bringing our forests back to good health, we must start now to make a difference before next summer. The Senate is delaying and delaying. You must call both your Senators PLUS Senators Tom Daschle (D-SD), Harry Reid (D-NV) and Ron Wyden (D-OR). They are the lynchpins. The numbers are below. HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING. There have been threats of a filibuster. Negotiations are taking place right now over if and when there will be a vote. To win, Healthy Forest advocates must get sixty votes to overcome any threatened filibuster. The Senate needs to set a date and time for the vote. Your calls and faxes to the following Senators are critical to push the issue to a resolution. THE SENATE NEEDS TO VOTE. Right now, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act is being delayed by the environmental groups who would rather have your house burn down than have foresters clean up the forests or log a burned or bug killed tree. The fiddling must stop. You, and every person you know, must call your Senators NOW!!! Urge them to do their job. Urge them to do it now. THIS IS AN ALL OUT CALL TO ACTION. ACTION ITEMS: -----1. Call both your Senators to urge them to support the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HR 1904). 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. The Capitol Switchboard will answer. Ask for your Senators office. Then ask for the person who handles the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HR 1904). Put your Senator on the spot. Ask if he or she is going to allow a straight up or down vote. Urge them not to filibuster to prevent a vote. More talking points are listed below. Tell them: "I'm asking Senator _____________ to support the Healthy Forests Restoration Act legislation now before the Senate. We must act now to stop these catastrophic fires that devastate our water, our wildlife habitat, our air quality and our communities. It's time to act now before Congress goes home for the year. The bill, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HR-1904) will be before the Senate in the coming weeks. Please support this legislation and oppose efforts to weaken it." -----2. Call the Senators listed below. They are key to whether there is a vote and when it is scheduled. Urge them to allow a straight up or down vote on the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HR 1904). Call both your Senators PLUS these three: Tom Daschle (D-SD) – Phone (202) 224-2321 – FAX (202) 224-6603 Harry Reid (D-NV) – Phone (202) 224-3542 – FAX (202) 224-7327 Ron Wyden (D-OR) – Phone (202) 224-5244 – FAX (202) 228-2717 -----3. Send your Senators an e-mail. 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. The greens are going all out. If you are not on the playing field, you will lose. Remember that saying, “The World Is Run By Those That Show Up.” TALKING POINTS. The Senate 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. Huge areas have already burned this summer. For 100 years land managers have aggressively moved to suppress wild land 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 (and already in 2003), hundreds of homes and other structures were destroyed, and thousands of people were evacuated. 23 firefighters lost their lives in 2002. 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. The House has done its job. Your Senators must now do theirs. They must address the forest health issue through The Healthy Forests Restoration Act (still called HR 1904, the House passed version). 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. The Senate is running out of time. Congress could easily adjourn for the year still fiddling over Healthy Forests. Help bring an end to this crazy debate. They are debating while your home is threatened. INSIST ON A VOTE NOW!! HOLD YOUR SENATOR RESPONSIBLE. Please forward this message as widely as possible. -- To unsubscribe from this mailing list; please visit http://governance.net and enter your email address.