From PennFuture (http://www.pennfuture.org):
The current version of the House Farm Bill is packed with attacks on environmental laws and America’s national forests — and we need you to take action today to fight it at https://pennfuture.salsalabs.org/takeaction_farmbill/index.html.
Provisions in the current form of the bill would silence your voices, cutting the public out of proposed changes to our national forests, creating “categorical exclusions” that would allow projects up to 6,000 acres, almost 10 square miles, to proceed without meaningful public input or environmental review. Other policies are intended to limit citizen access to the courts, incentivizing logging over clean water, recreation, and wildlife.
This bill also attacks the Roadless Area Conservation Rule by creating a loophole to allow logging and costly road building in protected forest areas. It also guts the Endangered Species Act by removing a requirement for expert consultation regarding endangered species and critical habitat. A Farm Bill with strong federal forestry provisions is essential to Pennsylvania as the Allegheny National Forest calls the northwest part of the Commonwealth home.
Instead of accepting the clear cutting of our national forests as the price for sensible farm policies, Congress should keep these extremely contentious forestry provisions out of the Farm Bill and pass a clean version that helps our farmers and supports our forests.
Tell your Member of Congress to OPPOSE the House Farm Bill federal forestry provisions, and urge them to speak out publicly against these egregious attacks on our wild national forests.
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