Ex-Forest Service Chiefs Criticize Plan

[deadparrot]

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration formalized its plan to sell more than 300,000 acres of national forest to help pay for rural schools in 41 states, submitting legislation to Congress on Thursday to funnel $800 million to the schools over the next five years.

The schools would get $320 million next year, but the figure would drop sharply after that, to just $40 million in its final year, officials said. That would be a 90 percent decrease from current spending — a figure Western lawmakers called unacceptable.

The legislation came as four former Forest Service chiefs blasted the land sale plan as contrary to more than a century of agency practice.

"Selling off public lands to fund other programs, no matter how worthwhile those programs, is a slippery slope," the retired chiefs said, calling the land sale "an unwise precedent."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/bush_land_sale

[Erika]

1. This is short sighted beyond belief

In Idaho, prime recreation areas would be sold off to the rich for a one time limited profit to the rural schools. What will happen when that money runs out?

This is nothing more than stealing public lands.

[rodeodance]

4. and in the story, it says Repugs are warming up to the idea.

[Erika]

7. Butch Otter, running for governor endorsed it then backed off

big time after a negative deluge. These are public lands.

[Oversea Visitor]

2. Yup

National forest limited
Bad plan all round
No solving problems
Sell sell finance war end up with big zero nothing

[Daphne08]

3. "Selling off public lands to fund..." a war of choice

I really am sick of war.

[Erika]

5. Yes, we can spend billions on Iraq

But we force public lands to be sold off to the rich for our own rural schools?

Does someone see something wrong with this picture?

[burrowowl]

6. Do respond to

Defenders of Wildlife, National Parks, etc. e-mails to stop this idiotic, greedy sale.
As the cartoon on one of the sites says (man talking to his son): This was once ours.

[enough]

8. k&r

[UpInArms]

9. related: Forest Service proposes land sales; ex-chiefs critical

http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2006/03/17/news/national/20060317_us_news_9.txt

Friday, March 17, 2006 1:04 PM CST
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration formalized its plan to sell more than 300,000 acres of national forest to help pay for rural schools in 41 states, submitting legislation to Congress Thursday to funnel $800 million to the schools over the next five years.

The schools would get $320 million next year, but the figure would drop sharply after that, to just $40 million in its final year, officials said. That would be a 90 percent drop from current spending -- a figure Western lawmakers called unacceptable.

The legislation came as four former Forest Service chiefs blasted the land sale plan as contrary to more than a century of agency practice.

"Selling off public lands to fund other programs, no matter how worthwhile those programs, is a slippery slope," the retired chiefs said, calling the land sale "an unwise precedent."

The letter was signed by Max Peterson, Dale Robertson, Jack Ward Thomas and Michael Dombeck, who headed the Forest Service from 1979 to 2001. The men led the agency under four presidents from both parties.

...more...

This country is another day older and deeper in debt - pretty soon it will have absolutely no assets either. :(