The below was forwarded to my friend by a neighboring TOS Chapter
member...forgive me if this has been sent already but I feel like Birders
need to respond... You will be asked to donate at end but just click
negative if desire...this is VERY CRUCIAL to our birds and other life we
know is important for our survival and theirs...
*Subject:* *Public Lands Transfer*
As you may know, there is an increasing movement by some legislative and
commercial groups (primarily in the West, but gaining support in the East)
to transfer Western public lands (U.S. Forest Service, BLM, etc.) to either
the states or private/commercial interests. The majority of Western states
have already transferred acreages to private and commercial interests
(petroleum, mining, timbering, and real estate) equivalent to the size of
the state of Louisiana. Additionally, there are militant groups like the
Bundy's who are continuing to operate under the guise of their
interpretation of the Constitution to seize public lands for their own uses.
We need to fight this effort. It is a slippery slope that will not end
well for sportspersons and other outdoor enthusiasts. It will be easy for
these groups to convince many Eastern legislators to back the land
transfers because most folks back East do not understand the real issues
and tend to agree with the spin used by land take-over proponents. These
lands are, truly, OUR lands, and we need to protect this irreplaceable
heritage; otherwise, we and our descendants will all lose in the end.
The Link below is to the National Wildlife Federation's new website that
addresses these issues surrounding our public lands. Very informative set
of pages that you can follow from first to last. You may have to
right-click the address and open in a separate window, or cut-and-paste the
address into a new window. Please visit the website and, if you believe
the information is helpful to better understanding the background about
these transfers, please forward the link to others.
http://keepitpublic.nwf.org/
Melissa Turrentine
Bedford County
John Sellars Lebanon Chapter TOS