National Monuments Review Sample Comment Scripts for the Savvy Citizen.
Protect Giant Sequoia National Monument
ACTION ALERT: public comment period open for Interior Department’s National Monuments Review–Submit Comments before July 10, 2017. Click here to submit: Review of Certain National Monuments Established Since 1996
The following is a sample comment submission preceded by background information. Please do not cut and paste the comment script! Edit the script to make it your own and add personal commentary. These scripts are designed to inform and are for inspiration and ideas! For ideas on how to write a strong submission, click here: “Suggested Outline or “Hot Topic” Review List for Comments.”
Protect Giant Sequoia National Monument – Sample Script by Guest Contributor P.R. for Tuesday, June 14, 2017:
Giant Sequoia National Park is a national monument that is worth preserving at its present size for many reasons. When President Clinton established this monument in 2000, he said, “This is not about locking up lands, but freeing them for all Americans.”
These trees, some of which are up to 3000 years old, hold many clues to scientists as their age allows studies that help us to learn more about the environmental changes that have occurred here on earth. This area of the Sierra Nevada also holds the Pacific Fisher, a species that is considered threatened in California. Opening these lands to mining or logging would certainly be detrimental to the fisher, which requires large old growth forests to survive. As of April, 2016, only 300 individuals were thought to survive south of Yosemite, an area that encompasses Sequoia National Monument.
The monument also contains historical features that deserve preservation. The Boole tree can be seen on a trail winding through a clear cut area. This single tree was preserved by Mr. Boole, who was the timber foreman, who was responsible for cutting down all the other trees in this grove. This walk among the stumps of sequoias reminds us and future generations of what we lose when we allow our monetary interests rule against our responsibility to care for our environment. Another trail, the Chicago Stump Trail, shows the tree that was cut for the 1897 Chicago Worlds Fair. While these trails are not the most scenic ones to hike, they do demonstrate the need for protection of any remaining trees. Mining, logging, energy exploration in this area would be detrimental to these sequoias.
Recreational opportunities, so necessary for our growing population, include hundreds of miles of hiking trails through old growth, rafting or kayaking the Kern River, cross country skiing, more than 150 miles of off highway vehicle (OHV) use for motorcycles and ATV’s. All of this recreation brings not only increased awareness of the importance of environmental preservation but also tourist dollars to the surrounding communities.
Please preserve this monument with the full protection in order to keep this land free for all generations of Americans, as President Clinton intended.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sequoia/home/?cid=stelprdb5394941
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Sequoia_National_Monument
http://articles.latimes.com/2006/aug/23/local/me-sequoia23
http://articles.latimes.com/2000/apr/16/news/mn-20329
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/2017/04/26/sequoia-monument-review-trump-admin/100955918/
Photo: Giant Sequoia in Giant Sequoia National Monument. 9 June 2007. Source: Jason Hickey. Creative Commons.
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