58 Comments
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JohnH's avatar

I lived near a national forest, and practically grew up there. I’m still not too far away. Probably nothing that the Trump regime has done strikes me more viscerally than this outrageous step.

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Jim Pattiz's avatar

The destruction would be on a scale not seen since the industrial revolution, maybe earlier. It’s almost unimaginable

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Bill Vann's avatar

Good trouble ahead. See you in the woods.

Months ago my question was/is will citizens sacrifice when grandma lay in front of a dozier on some dirt road? Or when teens chains themselves to trees again? Will the media respond the way they did 50 years ago? This will need a lot of independent coverage, I imagine.

Are there organizations prepared to rally when citizens are tested by these thoughtless ones?

The more I know the more I can help in my own ways. Thank you.

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Jim Pattiz's avatar

Well said Bill. That’s exactly what I’m getting at. Lawsuits and letters and calls may not be enough. To quote an old movie, “And then what are you prepared to do?” You know what comes next. Good trouble.

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Pauline Faye's avatar

Thank you so much for keeping us in the loop! So horrible!😩😩

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Jim Pattiz's avatar

I miss the days of newsletters with travel tips and stories. Every time I blink now another bedrock conservation law or environmental protection has been gutted.

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Pauline Faye's avatar

Ugh…So true!

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Bluemoonistic Photo Musings's avatar

Thank you for keeping us all aware of the true ramifications of what is happening! It makes us want to rush out and take more photos of all the old growth areas!

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Anthony P's avatar

This administration has assembled a group of environmental terrorists who are doing everything short of unleashing bunker buster bombs on America’s public lands. They would decimate places which Americans, young and old, enjoy experiencing. They would transform “America The Beautiful” into “America The Trash Pit.” They would rob future generations of what ought to be their natural birthright as Americans. And their rationale for doing all of this is quite simple. It’s to put more money into the pockets of the already obscenely wealthy who couldn’t care less about the rest of us since they already own their own private islands which are “Trump-Proof.” In fact, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner recently spent over $1 billion on a small Albanian island which they intend to convert into a luxury resort.

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Matthew's avatar

These national forests and public lands are gifts from God. They are to be protected and preserved forever. They are not assets on some company’s balance sheet.

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Jim Pattiz's avatar

Well said

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Marycat2021's avatar

The news media is terrible at reporting on environmental issues. Thank you for what you do. I saw this coming the day that bastard won the election.

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Jim Pattiz's avatar

That means a lot. It’s true. The traditional news media is woefully unequipped to report on this administration and its assault on our American institutions

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Marycat2021's avatar

It's also possible that the media doesn't think protecting our air, land and water is important when compared to the many distractions Trump feeds them daily.

When Trump won in 2024 I grieved for every animal, every plant and tree, every drop of water and every breath of air. I was physically ill for a week. I'm 68 and disabled, but I was a lifelong hiker, swimmer and advocate for animals, and yet it seems I read so little in the news about how our beautiful world is dying, as though it's a fringe issue not meriting serious coverage.

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Angie's avatar

This cannot happen.

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Jim Pattiz's avatar

People like those reading this piece will need to speak up and be prepared to go all the way to stop this.

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Alta Irwin's avatar

It doesn’t matter what color your flag is, this violation of our public, cherished lands means we ALL fight together for America.

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Jim Pattiz's avatar

Well said

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Alta Irwin's avatar

Thank you, Jim.

I appreciate your article to inform us what is happening here on our own land, what we stand to lose if we don’t stand up .

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Jim Pattiz's avatar

Thanks Alta. I’ll be fighting this all the way and will doing everything I can to stop it.

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Judy's avatar

Having lived in the Tongass (Juneau) for more than forty years, I have seen the effects of logging on small plots of land. It is heartbreaking to see protection of the whole forest be lost to such activity. It seems that to the current admin nothing is worth protecting if it can result in a profit for someone.

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Jim Pattiz's avatar

Great perspective. Thanks for sharing Judy.

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Janethunter23@gmail.com's avatar

We have to prevent this destruction by every means possible.

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Jim Pattiz's avatar

Yes indeed

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Stacey Jenkins's avatar

We the people need to rise up in droves to stop the Tech Bros, Trump and spineless politicians to stop the assault on our forests!

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TapleyTouton's avatar

Shameful - just pure greed!!!

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Jim Pattiz's avatar

Yes indeed

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Alice Bjornson's avatar

Thank you posting this…no words

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Jim Pattiz's avatar

It’s hard to comprehend. Very painful. I will be fighting this with every fiber of my being.

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Jayne Mills's avatar

All the information is so important but it’s hard to know exactly what to do to help fight the good fight. Please let us know what we can do!

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Jim Pattiz's avatar

We’re working on that Jayne. For now stay tuned and stay vocal. Let every elected official you can know how unacceptable this is.

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Patti B's avatar

Absolutely sickening.

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Jim Pattiz's avatar

Yes it is Patti

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Mary Lilith Ruth's avatar

Damn I shared a quote with a long story above. I shared your post independently afterwards because I had so much to say. People probably won’t get to the quote. I had much to say. Sharing again seemed to make sense.

Thank you.

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