Hunters, fishermen, hikers, campers, and friends of the natural heritage of our great country are expressing alarm at a recent proposal by Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah to sell off 3.3 million acres of public land. A further proposal of Rep. Chaffetz adds insult to injury by taking away the power of Forest Service personnel to enforce regulations within its boundaries.

Now Utah is a long way from Georgia — a month or two by covered wagon, several days drive or a few hours by jetliner. Nevertheless, House Bill 621 threatens a great loss for our state, as well. As an example, note that the Chattahoochee National Forest has periodically been threatened by the same forces with shortsighted agendas favoring deep pocketed developers over us, the people.

So if you cherish the heritage of the North Georgia mountains or of some other portion of the nation’s natural bounty, please give some thought to urging your U.S. representative to vote against these bills in Congress. In our neck of the woods, the congressman is Rep. Doug Collins, reachable by email at dougcollins.house.gov or by contacting his office at 210 Washington St. NW Suite 202, Gainesville GA 30504; phone 770-297-3388.

Delbert Greear
Helen

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