Some of America's forests are home to trees 1000 or more years old. Imagine for miles in every direction, a land barren and scarred. Torrential floods wash away the rich topsoil and gouge deep ravines, exposing rocks, clay or sand. Bald Eagles flying in terror as their 400 year old nest trees crash to the ground. Salmon and their eggs smothered under an avalanche of mud sliding off of a clearcut mountainside.
Bears fleeing as chainsaws and bulldozers clearcut their forest sanctuaries.
These are not exceptions. For decades, the U.S. Forest Service has deliberately clearcut millions of acres of National Forests, selling off the logs to international timber corporations at bargain basement prices. Over the past 10 years, our Forest Service has spent more than 5 billion tax-dollars carrying out the destruction of our National Forests. There is a world deforestation crisis - and America is at the center of the problem. We also hold the keys to the solution.