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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Here is some additional info from the Sierra
Club:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
href="http://www.sierraclub.org/forests/notforsale/">http://www.sierraclub.org/forests/notforsale/</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Rich Owings, Executive Director<BR>Mendocino Coast
Botanical Gardens<BR>18220 North Highway One<BR>Fort Bragg, CA
95437<BR>707.964.4352 x 11<BR>707.964.3114 fax<BR><A
href="http://www.gardenbythesea.org">www.gardenbythesea.org</A><BR></FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=Patricia_DeAngelis@fws.gov
href="mailto:Patricia_DeAngelis@fws.gov">Patricia_DeAngelis@fws.gov</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=native-plants@lists.plantconservation.org
href="mailto:native-plants@lists.plantconservation.org">native-plants@lists.plantconservation.org</A>
; <A title=mpwg@lists.plantconservation.org
href="mailto:mpwg@lists.plantconservation.org">mpwg@lists.plantconservation.org</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, March 29, 2006 8:43
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [PCA] Forest Land Sales to
Support Rural Schools - Public comment period ends March 30</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2><B>Pardon the
cross-postings.</B></FONT> <BR><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2><B>Public comment
is being sought for a proposal from the US Forest Service to sell parcels of
land in order to pay for rural schools. I had a hard time finding the
actual federal register notice. I'm sure there is a lot more to this
issue than what I've provided but this is a start.</B></FONT> <BR>
<UL>
<LI><FONT face=Arial size=2><B>A copy of the FR notice</B></FONT>
<LI><FONT face=Arial size=2><B>An article from the Charleston
Gazette</B></FONT></LI></UL>
<P><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=2><B>Comment Period Open for Proposed Sale of National Forest
Land</B></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2><B><BR>Secure Rural Schools Land Sales
Initiative</B></FONT> <BR><FONT
size=2><BR>http://yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_32355.shtml</FONT>
<TABLE width="100%">
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD width="59%"><FONT face=Arial size=1>By: USDA<BR>Published: Mar 2,
2006 at 15:17</FONT>
<TD vAlign=top width="40%">
<DIV align=right><FONT face=Arial
size=2><BR><BR></FONT></DIV></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=2><BR>The Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested
individuals and organizations on the list of National Forest System land
parcels in the FY 2007 President's Budget proposal to be sold for the purpose
of funding payments to Secure Rural Schools (SRS), should this program be
extended by amendment to the Secure Rural Schools and Community
Self-Determination Act of 2000. The sale of these parcels is contingent upon
amendment of the SRS as proposed by the President.<BR><B><BR>DATES</B>
<BR><BR>You should submit your comments by March 30, 2006 to be assured of
consideration. Comments received after that date will be considered only to
the extent practicable.<BR><B><BR>ADDRESSES</B><BR><BR>You may submit your
comments by e-mail to </FONT><A href="mailto:SRS_Land_Sales@fs.fed.us"><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ee
size=2><U>SRS_Land_Sales@fs.fed.us</U></FONT></A><FONT face=Arial size=2>, by
facsimile to (202) 205-1604, or by mail to USDA Forest Service, SRS Comments,
Lands 4S, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., Mailstop 1124, Washington, DC
20250-0003. Electronic submission is preferred. If you submit your comments by
e-mail or fax, you do not need to send a paper copy by mail.<BR><BR>Your
comments may address the entire list of parcels identified in the President's
proposal, or an individual parcel or parcels on that list. If you are
commenting about a specific parcel on the list, it would be helpful to provide
the parcel's number from the list and all information specifically related to
the sale of that parcel.<BR><BR>Document and Comment Availability: In addition
to publishing the full text of this document in the Federal Register, the
Forest Service provides all interested persons an opportunity to view and/or
print the contents of this document, the potentially eligible lands listing,
and associated maps via the Internet. Information on this proposal and the
Federal Register Notice can be found at </FONT><A href="http://www.fs.fed.us/"
target=_blank><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ee
size=2><U>http://www.fs.fed.us</U></FONT></A><FONT face=Arial size=2> via the
Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act link to the
"President's FY 2007 Budget Proposal for the Forest Service--Secure Rural
Schools and Community Self-Determination Act Extension" page.<BR><B><BR>FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</B> <BR><BR>Cynthia R. Swanson, Assistant Director
of Lands, Washington Office, 202-205-0099. Individuals who use
telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern
Standard Time, Monday through Friday.<BR><B><BR>SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION</B><BR><BR>The Secure Rural Schools and Community
Self-Determination Act of 2000 (the Act) (Pub. L. 106-393) was enacted to
provide transitional assistance to rural counties that had been affected by
the decline in revenue from timber harvests on Federal lands. These counties
traditionally relied on a share of receipts from timber harvests to fund their
school systems and roads. The Act stabilized payments that are critically
important to more than 4,400 rural schools and addressed many severe
maintenance backlogs for county roads. Resource Advisory Committees (RACs)
established under the Act have developed and proposed forest health
improvement projects.<BR><BR>The President's fiscal year 2007 Budget for the
Forest Service proposes legislation to amend the Secure Rural Schools Act. The
legislation would provide a source of funding for payments under the Secure
Rural Schools Act by authorizing the sale of a limited number of National
Forest System lands. These parcels generally meet criteria traditionally used
by the Forest Service to identify lands suitable for sale or exchange. Many of
these parcels are isolated from other contiguous National Forest System lands,
and because of their location, size, or configuration are not efficient to
manage as a component of the National Forest System.<BR><BR>The Forest Service
manages about 193 million acres in 155 national forests and 20 national
grasslands located in 43 States across the nation. The limited number of
parcels included within this proposal constitutes less than 0.2 of 1% of the
National Forest System land base. A total of 304,370 acres and approximately
3,000 individual tracts have been identified on 120 national forests, 10
national grasslands, within 35 States.<BR><BR>Lands located within the
boundaries of any component of the National Wilderness Preservation System,
National Wild and Scenic River System, National Trail System, National
Recreation Area, National Monument, National Historic Site, National Preserve,
or specially designated areas such as Research Natural Areas and experimental
forests and ranges are not eligible for conveyance.<BR><BR>Many of the
identified parcels have not been inventoried for natural or cultural resources
specific to this proposal. However, they generally meet criteria traditionally
used by the Forest Service to identify parcels for potential sale or exchange.
Examples of primary benefits of disposal will include: <BR><BR>(1) Reduction
in agency costs associated with encroachments and boundary management; <BR>(2)
enhancement of local economies through private sector development; and <BR>(3)
increased opportunities for acquisition by local governmental entities for low
income housing, parks, fire stations, water and wastewater systems, and for
other community and public purposes.<BR><BR>The proposed sale of these parcels
is contingent upon the enactment of legislation by Congress to provide revenue
for the authorization of the Secure Rural Schools and Community
Self-Determination Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-393). <BR><BR>The Forest Service
does not have general, non-specific, authority to sell National Forest System
lands.</FONT>
<P><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=3> </FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>Charleston
Gazette-Mail</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>February 11, 2006
</FONT><BR><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2><B>Monongahela Forest for
sale?</B></FONT> <BR><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>About 5,000 acres are in
federal bull’s-eye to fund the Secure Rural Schools Act</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT
face=Arial size=2>By </FONT><FONT face=Arial color=#0000a1 size=2><B><U>Rick
Steelhammer</U></B></FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>Staff writer
</FONT><BR><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>The U.S. Forest Service is proposing to
sell more than 250,000 acres of national forest land, including 4,836 acres in
West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest, to pay for reauthorizing a law
that provides extra funding for schools and roads in counties in which
national forests are located. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Since 1908, 25 percent of revenues from Forest
Service timber sales, grazing fees and mineral leases have been returned to
counties encompassing national forest property.</FONT>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Because the payments — designed to offset the loss
of school and road revenue from property taxes due to government land
ownership — fluctuated over time, Congress passed the Secure Rural Schools Act
in 2000 to stabilize payments as timber harvest receipts decreased.</FONT>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>The proposed sell-off of national forest land
apparently is designed to continue the Secure Rural Schools Act beyond 2006.
According to the Forest Service, the Bush administration’s fiscal 2007 budget
would permit the Secure Rural Schools Act payments to continue, with one key
modification: They would be financed through the sale of national forest
property.</FONT>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>On Friday, the Forest Service posted on its Web
site (</FONT><A href="http://www.fs.fed.us/" target=_blank><FONT face=Arial
color=#000099 size=2><U>www.fs.fed.us</U></FONT></A><FONT face=Arial size=2>)
the properties being considered for sale. Among properties on the list were
the nearly 5,000 acres of Monongahela National Forest land, including 1,649
acres in Randolph County, 1,171 in Tucker County, 1,376 in Pendleton County
and 458 acres in Pocahontas County.</FONT>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>According to a Forest Service news release, a
notice will be published in the Federal Register at the end of February
requesting public comments. At that time, detailed maps of the tracts being
proposed will be available.</FONT>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>“This proposed land sale could have irreversible
consequences for West Virginia, leaving us with far fewer acres to hunt, fish
and enjoy nature,” said Rep. Nick J. Rahall, in response to the Forest Service
announcement.</FONT>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Rahall said timber-sale receipts and funds from the
general treasury have been used to fund the Secure Rural Schools Act from 2000
to 2006. Last year, Rahall said, Pocahontas County received $485,000 for its
school system through the program, accounting for about 5 percent of its
operating budget.</FONT>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>But Rahall said Agriculture Secretary Mark Rey has
stated that funding the program using proceeds from a sell-off of national
forest lands would provide counties with only about half the revenue they
received for schools and roads during the past five years. </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Rahall said the Forest Service’s announcement came
two months after public outcry from outdoors enthusiasts forced the
abandonment of a public-lands sale in the West.</FONT>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>“The administration is playing a shell game with
these vital funds, undermining the guarantee of a fair return for these
communities,” Rahall said. “It is unacceptable to break this promise to rural
communities who rely on these funds to provide adequate schools and safe roads
for their residents.”</FONT>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Rahall is co-sponsor of bipartisan legislation to
reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools Act, set to expire this year.</FONT>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>To contact staff writer Rick Steelhammer, use
e-mail or call 348-5169.</FONT>
<P>
<P>
<HR>
<P></P>_______________________________________________<BR>native-plants
mailing
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