210 



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S^i"™*!^ RiCHEY & BrODERSEN po.o.,mo 



aitVtN K. WILUAMb VISALIA CALIFORNIA »J2r« 



RAIPH B lORDAN Itl Attorneys-At Law 



THOMAS B RJCHEY 2212 WEST MAIN STREET TEKPHONE 



THOMASC BRODERSEN VrSALIA. CALIFORNIA 93291 <lWim.U2S 



MARY L ROGERS TELECOPIER 



1109) 733<1M7 



March 11, 1994 



The Honorable Sanford Bishop 

 (D, 2nd, Georgia) 

 House of Representatives 

 Washington, DC 205 15 



Re: H.R. 2153Bill 



Giant Sequoia Preservation Act 



Dear Sir: 



Please include my comments in the record for H.R. 2153, The Giant Sequoia 

 Preservation Act. I have lived within 90 minutes of the affected area for 32 years. 

 Over those years, I have seen the land available for recreation and camping 

 diminish significantly. This Bill presumes to "preserve" the forest; the question is, 

 "for who?" It will not be available, to any practical extent, to anyone other than for 

 backpackers on lengthy trips. 



This Bill proposes to remove 442,000 acres from a managed, multiple-use status 

 and create a "Forest Preserve." The result of this will be a decline in forest health, a 

 much higher risk of catastrophic wild fire and diminished recreational activities. 



The economic costs of this Bill are high. The Federal, County and local govern- 

 ments will lose receipts they have received for many years. Mandating that the 

 Federal government make up for the loss of these funds (by increasing federal taxes) 

 and then requiring local governments to spend part of this money on "education" 

 smacks of smoke and mirrors financial planning. The costs to administer and 

 manage the "preserve" will be staggering. 



The Giant Sequoia are already protected by Forest Service Policy, Presidential 

 Proclamation and the 1990 Mediated Settlement Agreement of the Sequoia 

 National Forest Land Management Plan. The groups who support this Bill are 

 merely attempting to seek through legislation what they could not achieve through 

 reasoned negotiation. 



Sincerely, 



A . "^ A -- ... ... 



i 



Thomas C. Brodersen 

 cl 



