[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 22859]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           INTRODUCTION OF THE ACT TO SAVE AMERICA'S FORESTS

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                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 25, 2008

  Ms. ESHOO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to offer the Act to Save 
America's Forests.
  Our forests are an extraordinary natural resource which must be 
preserved. Unfortunately, aggressive logging practices on Federal land 
have eliminated much of our Nation's remaining forests and their native 
biological diversity. This is a sensible bill to limit aggressive 
logging and protect our forests and our environment.
  The Act to Save America's Forests bans clearcutting in all Federal 
forests. It also ends logging in the last virgin forests, roadless 
areas, and other core regions of the Federal forest system. The bill 
allows for limited and ecologically sustainable logging in lands that 
have already been logged outside of core forest areas.
  An important provision of the bill transfers jurisdiction of the 
Giant Sequoia National Monument from the Forest Service to the Park 
Service to manage and protect this important ecological asset. The 
Forest Service has continued to allow logging of the sequoias, which is 
not acceptable, and the courts finally put a stop to this egregious 
practice. My constituent, Martin Litton, has fought tirelessly for 
decades to protect the magnificent giant sequoia trees and the 
congressional action proposed in the Act to Save America's Forests will 
ensure their long term protection.
  This year, the bill includes a new provision for the Department of 
Interior to conduct environmental surveys to identify ecosystems not 
currently included in our national park system. These studies will 
identify needs to ensure that our national parks will preserve as much 
natural diversity as possible.
  Preserving our forests not only ensures that we will maintain the 
natural beauty of our Nation, it will help mitigate climate change by 
reducing carbon emissions. Forests are an important carbon storage 
medium and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimated that 
deforestation accounts for 20-25 percent of annual greenhouse gas 
emissions. In 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency estimated that 
forests in the U.S. absorbed enough carbon dioxide to offset 11 percent 
of our country's emissions. Logging reduces the capacity of our forests 
to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, so unless we act now to 
prevent aggressive logging, we could lose 50-80 percent of our carbon 
storage capacity and reduce our ability to mitigate the effects of 
climate change.
  The Act to Save America's Forests will ensure that future generations 
of Americans will inherit and enjoy our Nation's irreplaceable natural 
forest treasures.
  I'm very proud to introduce this bipartisan bill with 70 cosponsors 
and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in 
supporting this important piece of legislation.

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