As private forests in U.S. go for sale, enviros are pit against developers

[Guest guest]

As private forests in U.S. go for sale, enviros are pit against developers

 

Privately owned forests make up nearly 20 percent of U.S. land, and they're

changing hands at a blistering pace. A U.S. Forest Service study predicts that

44 million acres of private forestland will be sold over the next 25 years -- an

area twice the size of the state of Maine -- and conservationists are scrambling

to save some of the most ecologically sensitive areas, lest they be transformed

into condos and trailer parks. Many timber companies tired of hassling with

logging restrictions are finding they can make more money by selling their

property off as real estate. Combined with the Bush administration's plans to

auction off more than 300,000 acres of national forests and other federal lands,

the unprecedented sell-off " has the potential to permanently and profoundly

change the landscape of America, " says Conservation Fund President Lawrence

Selzer.

 

 

straight to the source: The Washington Post, Juliet Eilperin, 21 Mar 2006

 

 

" NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may

have read this email without warning, warrant, or notice. They may do this

without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse nor

protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President. "