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comments desired

Title: comments desired
forwarded from Lee Stone, Bastrop, TX.  Please, even if you do not agree with all of the comments below, do write/email your own comments in support of better management of our National Grasslands.  The website below makes it easy to do, and you can say what ever you like.

lee

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* WILD ALERT
* Friday, January 4, 2002
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Dear WildAlert Subscriber,

Happy New Year!

The Forest Service has just released its plan for managing National
Grasslands in the northern great plains, a plan that shortchanges
proposed wilderness, opens more wildlife habitat to oil and gas
development, and fails to recommend any wild and scenic rivers in the
grasslands.  Your input is needed by January 22:
<http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/?step=2&item=960>

SEA OF GRASS
When Lewis and Clark crossed the grasslands of the Great Plains nearly
200 years ago, they found a sea of grass teeming with massive herds of
bison, pronghorn and elk, grizzlies, wolves, foxes and immense prairie
dog towns. Today, most of this is gone. Much of the prairie has been
converted to farmland and oil development, and the losses continue
today.

Right now we have a wonderful opportunity to protect what remains and
restore a small part of this lost wildlife on ten National Grasslands
and Forests in the northern Great Plains. These lands include some of
the most outstanding examples of prairie left in public ownership.

NATIONAL GRASSLANDS ARE SUFFERING
Although these National Grasslands are supposed to be managed for all
Americans, they have not been treated well. Our public land managers
have poisoned much of the wildlife, including most prairie dog towns,
and allowed livestock to graze almost 100 percent of these lands. Oil
and gas development has marred the prairie vistas and destroyed
essential wildlife habitat. Now is our chance to change this.

FOREST SERVICE PLAN TAKES STEP BACKWARDS
The Forest Service's new plan takes a major step backwards from a
previously released draft. This plan significantly reduces the amount
of land recommended for wilderness, opens even more wildlife habitat
to oil and gas development, and fails to recommend any wild and scenic
rivers in the grasslands.

TAKE ACTION
Your comments are urgently needed by JANUARY 22 to reverse these
disturbing trends and protect America's wild prairies.  Please send a
letter today from
<http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/?step=2&item=960> or send your
own letter directly.  Tell the Forest Service:

- Our National Grasslands are in need of sound management that makes
native wildlife and habitat a priority. Please include the following
in your Final Plan.

- Manage for healthy populations of all native species on all National
Grasslands.  Priority should be given to adequately protect imperiled
species - such as the swift fox, mountain plover and ferruginous hawk
- and to restore native species such as the black-footed ferret,
bison, and prairie dogs.

-  Rest one-third of National Grasslands from livestock grazing
annually, to allow adequate amounts of taller grasses necessary for
several wildlife species. Livestock should also be kept away from
streams and wetlands.

- Prohibit oil and gas development where it is incompatible with other
uses, such as proposed wilderness areas.  Placement of fixed
structures should be denied for all remaining roadless, special
interest, and research natural areas, and other important wildlife and
recreation areas.

- Propose all remaining roadless grassland areas for wilderness
designation (45 areas covering only 574,000 acres). This is the best
way to preserve the natural character of these few remaining wild
areas.

- Aggressively work to consolidate federal lands now checkerboarded
with private lands, which makes appropriate management more difficult.

Your comments count! Please send your letter by January 22, 2002, to:
Northern Great Plains Planning Team
US Forest Service
125 N. Main St., Chadron, NE 69337-2118
EMAIL: cloop@fs.fed.us

You can download the Forest Service's "Northern Great Plains
Management Plans Revision" at
<http://www.fs.fed.us/ngp/plan/feis_summary.htm>

Many thanks to the Grasslands Wilderness Campaign and the Predator
Conservation Alliance for this alert.

***************************************************************
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