| Date: U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer Subject: Extreme pesticide spray plans in California’s National Forests Dear Senator Boxer, I am writing to express my outrage about the numerous U.S. Forest Service projects in California involving large-scale pesticide and herbicide applications. I ask you to do everything in your power to stop the use of pesticides in our forests. I am concerned that the Forest Service is increasing the number and scale of forest plans including pesticides and herbicides in our public lands. These include the most extreme herbicide spray plans in the last two decades, with the largest covering between 13,500 and 8,000 acres each. I worry about the irreparable damage these chemicals may do to the natural surroundings and public lands I enjoy, as well as the health hazards these chemicals pose to my family. I am concerned that these plans are unnecessary, unwise, and unsafe for both human and forest ecological health. Forest management on public lands should be based on long-term ecological health and should err on the side of safety and conservation. I am troubled that our public forests are being managed more for timber productivity, than for ecological integrity and public interests. I worry about the long-term costs of all these pesticide applications, particularly those to the environment, the natural area, and the people who live near and use the national forests. Please help put an end to these unnecessary and hazardous pesticide applications in our public lands. Recognize I represent a significant portion of Californians in my opposition to pesticide use on our national forests, and that we strongly urge you to convince the U.S. Forest Service to utilize alternative, non-chemical treatment methods. Please use the power of your office to help put an end to these pesticide projects in our forests. Sincerely, |