Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to [email protected]
The U.S. Senate is considering language in the new budget that would allow for selling off our public lands, including national forest land and national wildlife refuges. This is under the guise of allowing for the land to be developed for affordable housing, but given the remote locations of many of these lands away from infrastructure and jobs, there would be no way to make new housing affordable in these areas.
Additionally, these lands provide hundreds of millions of dollars to rural economies via their recreational and hunting and fishing opportunities, in addition to the services they provide to us in terms of flood protection, air quality, and more. They’re also home to thousands of species, many that aren’t found anywhere else.
These lands belong to all of us and are one of our greatest assets. But once they’re gone, they’re gone forever. So please call your U.S. senators today to urge them to vote against selling our public lands.
Rowan Smith
Orono
