Voice Support for Public Lands Bill in House
February 4, 2009 — The U.S. Senate has passed S.22 – the omnibus Public Lands Act which will provide a number of provisions for the advancement and preservation of our National Trails System. We thank all those who have already joined us in voicing support for the Act in the Senate. We need your help again. Now, the House of Representatives is planning to vote on this Senate bill within the next two weeks. You can encourage the passage of this landmark bill by contacting your Congressional representative and urging him/her to support the Omnibus Public Lands Act as it is written, without amendments. ATC’s letter to Congressional representatives is posted below: we welcome your use of it as a template or inspiration. We will continue to track the progress of this bill. Stay tuned to this Web page for more information. The Honorable (Full Name)
I am writing today on behalf of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to encourage your consideration and support for S.22—the Omnibus Public Lands Act which is likely to be considered on the floor of the House in the next week. While the act includes more than 100 separate pieces of legislation that now have been consolidated into one omnibus bill, many of the components of the bill have been under consideration in the Congress for years. Of particular interest to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy are the provisions pertaining to the national trails system. Specifically, the bill would extend willing-seller land-acquisition authority to nine national scenic and national historic trails that currently lack such authority. The bill also authorizes three new national scenic trails (the New England NST, Pacific Northwest NST, and the Arizona NST) as well as a number of national historic trails. The bill also extends wilderness designation to more than two million acres of public lands including portions of the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia. It also authorizes a national conservation landscape system for lands administered by the Bureau of Public Lands as well as a forest restoration program within the USDA Forest Service. Again, we urge you to vote in support of S.22. Thank you for your consideration of this important legislation. Additional InformationRead more information on the act and its implications for the National Trails System.
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