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A horrific animal-harming, pro-logging industry bill which bypasses environmental laws and allows logging in ancient giant sequoia forests in America's protected national parks is being pushed by House majority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). We must oppose this bill and urge the reintroduction of better legislation to protect people and their homes against increasing wildfires.

The ridiculously named Save Our Sequoias Act (HR 8186), a congressional bill with an Orwellian name, would permit assaulting sequoia forests with chainsaws, helicopters, chipping machines, and other heavy machinery — and terrify many thousands of animals, like raccoons, owls, deer, foxes, birds, and bears—and drive them from their homes, causing many to die.

This is gasoline-powered industrial “management” of giant sequoia forests — including Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (“SEKI”), and Yosemite's Mariposa Grove — that will be followed by industrial tree plantations by the timber industry. They want to turn wild sequoia forests into “thinned” (chainsawed and herbicide-doused) commercial tree plantations.

So far Congressman Jared Huffman has not supported this legislation, so besides asking representatives to oppose the bill, we want to support him in standing against the industrial destruction of sequoia forests, where wild animals live.

In addition, we want Huffman to reintroduce a far more effective wildfire protection bill, the 2019 Wildfire Defense Act (WDA). Instead of cutting down trees both living and dead in a wild forest, the WDA would protect houses and structures by advocating home “hardening,” creating defensible space around houses (necessary only up to 100 ft. out), combined with emergency evacuation preparedness to save lives.

This is what modern wildfire science prescribes: working from houses out, not from the forest in; understanding wildfires are natural and necessary for wild (not “managed”) forest health, instead of “treating” and “thinning” millions of acres of trees with chainsaw and bulldozer “management.” This is the timber industry's false, profit-driven, and futile attempt—at taxpayer expense—to try to prevent wildfires upon which healthy forests depend.

Sequoias have evolved over millions of years to rely on high-intensity wildfire to regenerate—including large fires which even kill trees in some portions of a forest, which make room for new seedlings to grow quickly in more spacious, nutrient-rich, ashy soil. Wild forests know best what they're doing!

HR 8168 would interfere with these natural sequoia forest processes and instead cut down trees to sell to timber companies eager to log protected national parks—by in effect yelling, “Fire!,” falsely claiming logging reduces wildfire and even “helps” forests – which it does not.

This bill is just one of many that exploit the public's justifiable fear of wildfire, but instead only serves its paymasters, the timber industry. Outrageously, even the U.S. Forest Service profits from logging: selling killed and burned trees to the industry to pay for its programs — which include deforestation programs like this one!

HR 8186 would also weaken environmental protections of the Environmental Protection Act (ESA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by in effect yelling “wildfire danger” in healthy, ancient, fire-adapted sequoia forests.

The industry and its paid congressional politician enablers want to hoodwink the public into supporting these pro-logging industry initiatives by using euphemisms like “thinning,” “fuels reduction,” and “forest health initiatives.”

All of which destroys wild forests—and the homes of thousands of wild animals, worsening the climate crisis. Don't believe them!

Congress needs to know where the public stands on these issues, and Huffman can be encouraged to be a key ally in the fight to protect sequoia (and all) forests where the wild animals are.

Letters to Decision Maker(s) for reference:

Letter 1

Subject: Thank you for NOT supporting HR 8186; please re-introduce the Wildfire Defense Act

Thank you for not signing on to support the forest-destroying bill with the Orwellian name: The “Save Our Sequoias” Act which would open up giant sequoia forests in our precious, protected national parks to the logging industry, and bypass environmental regulations — as you know.

Instead, please re-introduce the 2019 Wildfire Defense Act which protects houses and homes, rather than allowing chainsaws, herbicides, helicopters, and other industrial machines to assault sequoia forests, leaving the homes of other animals intact. 

Even worse, this “fuels reduction” non-science would be done under the pretense of “helping” sequoia groves and preventing wildfires, including high-intensity fires — which are a necessary part of natural sequoia regeneration.

Wild animals would be driven from these forests and have nowhere to go while years of atrocious, polluting, forest-denuding, gasoline-powered “management” takes place, with many of them dying as a result. Keep the U.S. Forest Service and the timber out of the profit-driven “thinning” and “fuels reduction” business (selling lumber to private industry).

Know that I am watching, I care about wild forests and wild animals, and I appreciate that you walk your environmentalist talk in sequoia forests, fortifying your strong environmental record.

Thank you for your consideration of this important topic.

Sincerely,

Signed

Letter 2

Subject: Oppose HR 8186: Stop the Chainsaw Massacre of Our Sequoia Forests

Please oppose the forest-destroying bill with the Orwellian name: The “Save Our Sequoias Act” which would open up giant sequoia forests in our precious, protected national parks to the logging industry, and bypass environmental regulations.

Instead, please encourage there-introduction of the 2019 Wildfire Defense Act which protects houses and homes, rather than allowing chainsaws, herbicides, helicopters, and other industrial machines to assault sequoia forests. 

Even worse, this “fuels reduction” non-science would be done under the pretense of “helping” sequoia groves and preventing wildfires, including high-intensity fires — which are a necessary part of natural sequoia regeneration.

Wild animals would be driven from these forests and would die as a result of not having suitable habitat that can support them or cause other animals they in turn displace to die. This would be years of atrocious, polluting, forest-denuding, gasoline-powered “management.”  Keep the U.S. Forest Service and the timber out of the profit-driven “thinning” and “fuels reduction” business (selling lumber to private industry).

Thank you for your consideration of this important topic.

Sincerely,

Signed

This alert is no longer active, but here for reference. Animals still need your help.