Why should we hear about body bags and deaths and how many, what day it's gonna happen? It's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?
Also, Sierra Club has a Google Earth file that lets you explore the parcels that are for sale.
The administration has described the parcels they intend to sell as "non-vital," characterizing them as isolated properties that are difficult to manage. Viewing the parcels through Google Earth instead reveals that far too many of the areas up for auction are within or immediately adjacent to large blocks of public forest land. Selling these properties would only serve to fragment undeveloped forestland, something Chief Dale Bosworth has called one of the biggest threats to America's forest heritage.
Governor Mike Easley moved this week to reinstate protection on some of the most pristine areas of North Carolina's national forests. http://blog.forestimages.org/files/Forest-carpet.jpg Easley petitioned the federal government – which manages our National Forests in North Carolina – to issue rules that would restrict road construction and timber harvesting on the forests that are designated roadless areas.
I enjoy mapping and it occurred that perhaps our readers would get more up at arms over this deal if they could see actual satellite photos of these beautiful pristine areas before they're sold off and, as you say, a Wal-Mart goes up. I've taken the liberty of attaching a screen shot from the mapping page to show you what it looks like. The shot is of the Bitterroot in Montana, which is the first PDF map on the USDA page linked in your article.
Any volunteers to help? This could be a big undertaking.
Environment : National Forests To Be Sold To Pay For Schools
Secure Rural Schools Forest Service FY 2007 Initiative - The FY 2007 President's Budget proposes to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools program for another five years. To help fund this initiative, the Administration recommends selling a limited number of acres of National Forest System lands around the nation. Lands that are potentially eligible have been identified and are displayed in a table here.
The Forest Service will be publishing a notice in the Federal Register around February 28th, requesting comments from the public. At that time, more detailed maps will be available for all lands identified as potentially eligible. The location of the maps will be published on this site at that date.
This is pretty disturbing, because even though funding rural schools is important, I'm not sure selling tons of national forest land to private owners is the solution. There are other options, for instance, less weapons and illegal wars, perhaps.
Agriculture Secretary Mark Rey says that these lands "are not the crown jewels," and Forest Service spokeperson Heidi Valetkevitch's says that the "lands in question aren't environmentally sensitive wilderness or protected scenic areas." However, American Whitewater says they "question the adequacy of their review."
Take a look at the list of acreage to be sold. It's about 300,000 acres. I used to go hiking and camping in Pisgah National Forest with my parents, and now they're going to sell alot of it. What if the areas where I used to camp in the gorgeous wilderness of NC one day becomes a Walmart? I shudder to think...
I enjoy mapping and it occurred that perhaps our readers would get more up at arms over this deal if they could see actual satellite photos of these beautiful pristine areas before they're sold off and, as you say, a Wal-Mart goes up. I've taken the liberty of attaching a screen shot from the mapping page to show you what it looks like. The shot is of the Bitterroot in Montana, which is the first PDF map on the USDA page linked in your article.
Any volunteers to help? This could be a big undertaking.
