Wednesday May Be The Day For Willing Seller Success - Please Call Your Representative!

from the American Hiking Society

American Hiking Society constantly monitors Congress to influence legislation that impacts hikers, and provides Action Alerts as a service to our members, who support our mission to protect trails and the hiking experience. Tomorrow, Congress will consider two bills that will significantly benefit trails and the hiking experience.

Most important to the North Country Trail is H.R. 146 the "Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009." Tomorrow afternoon the House will consider this bill. It has been considered in several forms over the past year, and contains more beneficial language for conservation, recreation and historic preservation than any other legislation in many years. It contains provisions that will recognize the National Landscape Conservation System, benefit the National Trails System, add millions of acres to the wilderness preservation system, diversify the economies of small communities and enhance opportunities to get outside.

At 10 AM EST, the House will hear H.R. 1404, the Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement (FLAME) Act. For years the Forest Service has "robbed from Peter to pay Paul," failing to budget adequate sums to fight increasingly severe fire seasons, and then transferring money from vital agency programs (like recreation management and trail construction) to fund the increasing cost of fire suppression. The FLAME Act will address this problem by creating a separate fund for suppressing large-scale wildfires, enabling the Forest Service to use appropriated funds to maintain trails and the hiking experience on our National Forests. The Forest Service is the largest landowner along the length of the NCT.

Please CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE and ask him or her to support these bills.

Suggestions for making a successful call:
1. Identify yourself as a hiker and outdoor enthusiast.
2. Ask them to support H.R. 1404, the FLAME Act, to give wild-land firefighters the resources they need, and protect funding for other vital Forest Service Programs that benefit ordinary Americans, like hiking trails.
3. Ask them to support H.R. 146, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, to protect recreational opportunities, diversify the economies of small communities and help Americans get outside and healthy.
4. Thank them for their time and leadership.

Go to Congress.org to find your Representative.
Go to C-SPAN to watch these votes, live.
See Omnibus Public Lands Bill Fails in House by 2 Votes