1. United States
2. Ill.
3. Letter

As a deeply concerned and actively engaged constituent, I write to urge you to do everything in your power to stop the Trump Administration from destroying our beloved U.S. Forest Service. I join countless others in opposing this heartbreaking and dangerously shortsighted decision. Drawing excerpts from a petition launched by Paige Caldwell, please join the fight to literally save our environment and all of the scientific research on forests that has gone on for over a century. The Trump Administration has already made it clear that they do not care what is best for nature, but rather what is best for the pockets of the rich. This dismantling will be the greatest attack the U.S. Forest Service has seen in all of its 121 years of operation. This is not simply a budget cut or reorganization of the service but rather a demolition. They are moving the headquarters from D.C. to Salt Lake City, Utah (where there is a huge anti-public lands movement). Along with this, every one of the 10 regional offices that have controlled the service since its creation will be shut down. Along with them every person that has dedicated their careers to their love of nature and science will lose their jobs. These are people that have spent years learning and gaining expertise to advise and push back government officials that do not have the expertise they do on nature, or the love of it. They push back when politicians come to them with bad ideas and bad motives. Not only will the regional offices be shut down but so will more than 50 research centers over 31 states. These research centers hold irreplaceable data and research that has been done long term, and once they are shut down this data will be lost and we can not recreate it. Everyone that works in these centers and their labs will be replaced by 15 political appointees (who have long lobbied FOR what Trump is doing). All of the Forest Service employees, scientists, and volunteers and their vast knowledge and expertise replaced by only 15 appointees who likely will not fight for nature but rather continue the path of destruction. The appointees will be placed in capitals alongside the governors, legislators, and lobbyists that have been pushing for the Forest Service to protect less and get out of their way. In fact, 193 MILLION acres of national forests, more land than the size of Texas, will be lost because it is being handed over to the people that want to destroy it most. This ecological horror and its terrifying impact on humanity and the environment must be stopped. Please let me know what you will be doing to protect our cherished forests and those who’ve dedicated their careers to saving, maintaining, and understanding them and their countless benefits.