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THREE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP STOP the 21st CENTURY'S MOST DESTRUCTIVE PUBLIC LANDS BILL!
Three things you can do to stop the 21st Century's most destructive public land bill!
The "Wilderness and Roadless Area Release Act" (HR 1581) introduced by Representative Kevin McCarthy (Republican of Bakersfield) and Senator John Barrasso (Republican of Wyoming), would strip most of the US Forest Service (USFS) "inventoried roadless areas" (IRA) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wilderness study areas (WSA) of their current protections. Nationally, 60 million acres would be left vulnerable to logging, mining, road construction, off-road vehicle use, oil drilling, gas development and other potentially destructive activities. In California, over 4,400,000 acres (that's 6,875 square-miles, or 4.1% of our entire state's land mass) would be affected, including 12.25% of all of our USFS and BLM lands!
Here are a few of the dozens of areas that would be despoiled around the state: Merced River WSA, Cady Mountains WSA, Beauty Mountain WSA, Bodie WSA, Soda Mountains WSA, Avawatz Mountains WSA, Hauser Mountain WSA, North Fork American IRA, Shuteye IRA, Fox Mountain IRA, Castle Peak IRA, Middle Fork Feather IRA, Grouse Lakes IRA, North Fork Smith River IRA, Mount Eddy IRA, Eagle Peak IRA, San Gabriel IRA, Cucamonga IRA and Orleans Mountain IRA.
HR 1581 is undoubtedly the most destructive public lands bill that has been proposed in the Twenty-First Century and it must be stopped! While it's true that the measure will probably have a more difficult time in the Senate, it is also true that this measure, or some sinister spin-off, could be stealthily inserted into a larger must-pass appropriations bill.
3 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP STOP THIS BILL
(1) CONTACT CONGRESSMAN JIM COSTA: Our first fight against the bill is in the House of Representatives. One of the key lawmakers yet to make up his mind on HR 1581 is Representative Jim Costa (Democrat of Fresno). No matter where you live, please contact Representative Costa by phone, email or fax and encourage him to strongly oppose HR 1581. If you live in Congressman Costa's district (it is the 20th Congressional District which includes much of Fresno and Bakersfield), please let him know that you are a constituent. If you have friends or family in his district, please encourage them to contact Mr. Costa as well. See the sample phone and fax/e-mail messages below.
His contact information is:
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E-mail: click here to email Mr. Costa through his online web form and fill out the form provided.
(2) CONTACT YOUR OWN MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
Go to http://www.house.gov/ If you're unsure who represents you in the House, enter your zip code in the space provided on the website to find out. Once you are at your representative's website, follow the instructions on the "contact me" tab. See the sample phone and fax/e-mail messages below.
(3) PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD FAR AND WIDE ABOUT THIS TERRIBLE MEASURE AND ASK YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO TAKE ACTION.
SAMPLE PHONE MESSAGE
Please oppose HR 1581 (Wilderness and Roadless Area Release Act). This extreme measure will strip existing protections from over 60 million acres nationwide, including 4.4 million acres of California's most important wild lands. This will degrade water quality, harm fish and wildlife, ruin valuable recreation areas and harm California's economy.
SAMPLE E-MAIL OR FAX MESSAGE
Dear Representative __________:
Please oppose HR 1581 (Wilderness and Roadless Area Release Act). This extreme measure will strip existing protections from over 60 million acres nationwide, including 4.4 million acres of California's most important wild lands. This will degrade water quality, harm fish and wildlife, ruin valuable recreation areas and harm California's economy.
California's roadless areas and wilderness study areas are important to me because...[PLEASE SHARE SOME OF YOUR OWN REASONS, INCLUDING SPECIFIC PLACES THAT ARE SPECIAL TO YOU. IT'S ALWAYS BEST TO PERSONALIZE MESSAGES TO CONGRESS].
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