[MCN] PLEASE HELP Stop Logging Rider - Make your calls and repost, tweet and share!

[Matthew Koehler]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rachel Fazio <rachelmfazio at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Dec 2, 2015


Help Stop Republicans From Forcing U.S. Spending Bills to Include
Destructive Logging Provisions!


*[image: IMG_2173 logged area]
<http://johnmuirproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IMG_2173-logged-area.jpg>*

*Rim Fire Logging in 2014 – Photo Courtesy of Tori Carpenter.*

*Even while leaders from around the world are attending the Conference on
Climate Change in Paris to develop policies which will stall and hopefully
reverse the effects of Global Climate Change, Republicans in the U.S. House
and Senate are threatening to hold U.S. spending bills (the funding that
runs the government) hostage unless Democrats agree to include
anti-environmental logging provisions, which will exacerbate climate
change, in the Appropriations package.*

These anti-environmental riders are focused on increasing logging
(“thinning”, and post-fire clearcutting) on public lands and/or eliminating
environmental review of intensive logging projects on millions of acres of
National Forest and BLM lands across the country. Under these provisions,
Federal agencies would be legislatively absolved from looking at, let alone
disclosing to the public, the negative impacts to forest ecosystems,
biodiversity, watersheds and recreation that their industrial timber
extraction would cause. Public input into how our federal lands are managed
would essentially evaporate.

In addition, these logging provisions: will not help protect rural
communities, because logging does not prevent fire or keep houses from
burning down; are contrary to all we have learned over the past 15 years
about the importance and ecological benefits of mixed-intensity wildland
fire <http://johnmuirproject.org/forest-watch/post-fire-habitat/> for our
forest ecosystems and ignore scientific consensus
<http://johnmuirproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Final2015ScientistLetterOpposingLoggingBills.pdf>
against
such provisions; will exacerbate climate change, by accelerating the
removal of carbon-storing trees and shrubs from our public forests through
logging – more trees than are killed by fire (including all the fires of
2015) or drought; and will destroy our best chance to hedge against the
negative impacts of climate change because the logging will facilitate the
degradation and destruction of millions of acres of our remaining forest
ecosystems, eliminating key habitats, such as mature/old trees, standing
dead trees (“snags”) and downed logs, which are necessary to support the
full complement of native biodiversity of plants and animals.

This is simply a shameful and bullying way for Republicans to feed their
timber industry supporters and sell out future generations for a quick
payday.

We have asked for your help before to defeat stand alone Bills
<http://johnmuirproject.org/2015/08/help-stop-destructive-logging-bills-in-congress/>,
and we need your help now to defeat these logging riders!

   - *PLEASE CALL YOUR U.S. SENATORS and REPRESENTATIVES TODAY urge them to
   oppose attaching any anti-environmental logging provisions (such as
   increasing logging (e.g., “thinning”, and post-fire clearcutting) in green
   and burned forests, eliminating environmental review, and/or curtailing
   oversight of logging activities by citizens and the courts) to
   any Appropriations Act (i.e. government funding legislation). If your
   Senator or Representative already supports these harmful actions urge them
   to change their position and to stop holding the running of the government
   hostage to their own special interests!*



   - Find your Senators’ Contact Information HERE
   <http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/>.
   You can also call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and they will
   direct your call.
   California Senators: Contact Dianne Feinstein at 202-224-3841 and
   Barbara Boxer at 202-224-3553.
   - Find your US House of Representative’s Contact Information HERE
   <http://www.house.gov/representatives/>.You can also call the Capitol
   Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and they will direct your call.
   - If you want talking points, or are just interested in the issue of
   fire in our forests, please check out ourStaff Articles
   <http://johnmuirproject.org/archives/staff-articles/>, In The News
   <http://johnmuirproject.org/archives/in-the-news/> and Television and
   Radio  <http://johnmuirproject.org/archives/television-radio/>Coverage.Thanks
   for standing up for our public lands!
   -

   Sincerely,
   -

   Rachel Fazio
   Associate Director
   John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute
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