Selling our National Forest land is NOT a good
idea. Comment please!!
USDA
FOREST
SERVICE ACCEPTING PUBLIC COMMENTS ON POTENTIAL LIST OF ELIGIBLE TRACTS OF LAND
FOR SALE
WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2006–U.S.
Department of Agriculture Forest Service today announced the start of a public
comment period on a list of forest lands that would be available for sale as a
proposal to provide funding to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and
Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (SRS).
The list of available forest lands,
published in today’s Federal Register, comprises 304,370 acres of land within
the 193-million-acre National Forest System. This represents less than 0.2 of
one percent of all Forest Service managed land. All of the parcels are
considered isolated or inefficient to manage due to their location or other
characteristics. Detailed maps of each parcel can now be found on the Forest
Service website (www.fs.fed.us).
The Forest Service will include in
its proposal the opportunity for local and state government agencies and
nonprofit land trust organizations the first right to buy these parcels at
market value.
Comments on the proposed list must be
received by March 30 and may be sent by e-mail to:
Written comments may be sent to: USDA
Forest Service, SRS Comments, Lands 4S, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Mailstop
1124, Washington, DC, 20250-0003. Send faxed comments to (202)
205-1604.
The President’s fiscal year 2007
budget includes a legislative proposal to reauthorize SRS for an additional five
years and to allow the Forest Service to sell approximately 200,000 to 300,000
acres. The money received from the sales (up to $800 million) would provide
funding to extend the SRS, which expires on Sept. 30, 2006.
To date, states have received a total
of approximately $1.9 billion ($2.5 billion including Bureau of Land Management
payments) through the SRS legislation.
