U.S. Forests

These priceless public lands are under the stewardship of our federal government and belong to every American citizen. Yet despite overwhelming public support for protecting our forests from destructive industries, the Bush administration is systematically giving away our public lands to big business.

100 Years of Mismanagement

For over 100 years, our national forests have been destructively mismanaged, primarily for timber. Today, the situation is more dire than ever. The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, the agencies entrusted with conserving our forests, have been given the green light to move forward with their pro-timber agendas.

With less than five percent of our ancient forests remaining in the lower 48 states, we cannot afford to destroy what's left.

Healthy Forests, A Healthy Economy

Healthy forests provide far greater economic benefits than do logged ones. Healthy ecosystem qualities such as clean air and water, fish, wildlife and recreation generate far more jobs and economic benefits for our communities than timber dollars ever could. In fact, the federal government loses taxpayer's money on every tree it sells.

An Ounce of Prevention

Deforestation of our national forests is one of the greatest tragedies of our time. It is also one of the most preventable. Only two percent of timber in the United States comes from our national forests. That's timber we can readily do without, simply by reducing our use of wood and paper products and using recycled materials.