Preserve forest land for future generations
When the U.S. Forest Service was created during the administration of Theodore Roosevelt, many argued for placing it in the Interior Department. Fortunately, its founder, Gifford Pinchot, understood that Interior in that day had more interest in exploiting our natural treasures than in protecting them for posterity.
Pinchot's premise was both commercial and preservationist. He argued that our vast forests are a valuable national asset to be managed for their commercial value and preserved for posterity. President Bush has asked Congress to sell tracts of the National Forest to offset a miniscule portion of the record federal budget deficit.
Now, more than ever, we need people like Pinchot. In the days when the Forest Service was founded, there were about 75 million people living in the United States, most on family farms. Today, there are nearly 300 million, mostly living and working in urban environments. Today, and in the future, we need this natural acreage to remain public and unspoiled.
A healthy national psyche demands places where we can leave behind the noise of daily life to quietly consider our genuine human needs. There must be a better way to reduce our federal deficit.
Eric Eno
Greensboro
Comments (5)
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I wonder how many times the NR going to print this letter?
Posted on April 1, 2006 8:23 PM
...A rose by any other name....
They must change the name of the sender but keep the same text.
Posted on April 1, 2006 10:41 PM
"A healthy national psyche demands places where we can leave behind the noise of daily life to quietly consider our genuine human needs."
Deep..... Very deep....
Posted on April 2, 2006 9:12 AM
I have lived most of my life here in North Carolina and up until recently, wouldn't have wanted to live anywhere else in the world. We used to have a beautiful, uncrowded, thriving state. Not anymore. The highways are overcrowded, the jobs are gone, the wages are down, the schools are overcrowded, the social systems are near collapse and the over all standard of living has plummeted. Why has this happened to our lovely home? Because our government has allowed it to happen.
First let me say, I have no issue with people who come to the United States, seeking a better life, and immigrating here through legal means, following our laws. That is what has made our country strong through the years.
But I take great issue with people who blatantly break our laws by crossing our borders illegally. They have no rights here. They flood our country bringing lawlessness, violence, drugs and a host of social problems. They have the audacity to flaunt their illegal presence by marching in the streets of our cities. Why weren't the law enforcement officers making arrests? Why are we sitting idlely by while our country is turned into Little Tiajauna?
The House of Representatives passed a good bill. The Senate is doing its usual number by proposing a weak uneffective waterdown bill. I think they are spineless cowards more worried about being re-elected than doing something to improve the lives of the average American.
Please, please, take the time to write to your senators. Force them to take a hard look at this issue before it is too late to fix this problem. We can stop the illegal flow across our borders and the deterioration of our standard of living by demanding that our government does WHATEVER it takes to end the invasion. Speak up folks while you still can........ in English instead of Spanish!
Posted on April 2, 2006 9:34 PM
NCRaised,
I don't think they are talking about selling our National Forest to Mexicans.
Posted on April 3, 2006 12:33 PM