Letter: Vote no to giving state control of public lands

Editor’s note: This letter was origionally addressed to Scott Tipton.

We are writing to inform you of our opposition to the State National Forest Management Act of 2015, House Resolution 3650.

Not only do we explore and play in the Colorado forest as often as possible, but we also use them to educate and help foster a love for the outdoors to our fourth-grade students at Aspen Elementary School. To imagine these lands not being available for that purpose alone is frightening and a complete disservice to our current students as well as future generations of students.

We strongly believe these public lands belong to the public and therefore should not be under the management of the state, available for commercial exploitation and degradation.

Even though the state may realize immediate monetary rewards by gaining control of as much as 2,000,000 acres of our lands for potential privatization, we must look beyond the quick benefits and consider long-term effects of losing these precious forests.

We hope you will join us in voting “no” on HR3650.

Respectfully,

Kate Korn and Emily Burnham

Carbondale