WASHINGTON (February 5, 2007) – For the second consecutive year, the President’s Forest Service budget includes a proposal to sell off up to $800 million of National Forest lands (pg 177 of President's FY 2008 budget). A similar proposal announced last year met with strong and widespread opposition from hunters, anglers, locally-elected officials, businesses, governors, and both Democratic and Republican Members of Congress.

“The Administration has failed to listen to the American people and their overwhelming opposition to selling off National Forest lands,” said National Forest Program Director Michael Francis. “It’s a sad commentary that the Administration would completely ignore the overwhelming opposition that this misguided plan created last year by releasing a nearly identical proposal to sell the country’s public lands to help remedy their poor fiscal decisions.”

While the full details of the land sale proposal are not yet available, there is every indication that it is nearly identical to the proposal made last February that would have sold up to 300,000 acres of National Forest lands across 35 states.

“In many ways the lands proposed for sale are some of the most critical places to protect, either because they provide hunters and anglers access to larger pieces of land or for their proximity to watersheds and other private development,” said senior policy analyst Mike Anderson.”

”A number of proposals were introduced in the last Congress to provide funding for rural counties without selling our valuable public lands,” noted Francis.  “We support assistance to these counties and look to Congress to debate and pass a solution that supports these communities while protecting our public lands for their enjoyment and use by all Americans.”