Letters: Stop private takeover of public lands

U.S. Rep. Don Young’s H.R. 3650 would authorize each state to buy up to two million acres of national forest lands to manage solely for timber harvest. This bill offers nothing for the conservation of fish and wildlife, or habitat protection, and this is very bad news for outdoorsmen. Those of us who value our national forest land for recreation stand to lose it to the timber industry.

Ranchers taking over a National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon seemed like a fringe effort to turn our public lands over to private interests. This movement has now arrived in Washington as a serious threat.

If you value hiking and biking a forest trail or listening to the sound of wild turkey at dawn or any other outdoor activity on your public lands, contact your U.S. representatives and urge them to oppose H.R. 3650.

This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 1:25 PM with the headline "Letters: Stop private takeover of public lands."