Tell Pombo: America's parks not for sale

Most Americans believe that our national parks and coastlines are an important part of our national heritage, and they want these outdoor treasures to be protected for future generations. It doesn't matter how much money you make, where you live, or even what size shoe you wear. Every American owns a stake in America's great outdoors - and so it should be a given that, because these spaces belong to everyone, they should be managed in the public trust rather than exploited for private gain.

When Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Tracy - a substantial portion of his district is within our own Bay Chapter) proposed last September to auction off 15 national parks to raise revenues for the federal treasury, the reaction across the country was one of total astonishment. While the move may have been uncharacteristic for a Bay Area member of Congress, it was just one of the many moves that Pombo made last year to sell publicly owned natural treasures for private development.

After proposing the sale of the national parks to private developers, he also snuck a provision into the budget to auction off publicly owned mountains, rivers, and forests-including many lands surrounding national parks - to mining companies and real-estate speculators. In addition, he authored controversial policies to open our coastal areas, including the California coasts, to offshore oil drilling, over the objection of state lawmakers. He also tried to help oil companies by inserting budget language that would have opened sacred places such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, even though the same companies were caught lying to Congress and widely criticized for gouging consumers at the pump.

And who could forget Pombo's rewrite of the Endangered Species Act, which barely passed the House last year and is now before the Senate? Pombo, who claimed he was doing wildlife a favor, proposes eliminating any requirement to protect endangered wildlife. Instead we would pay oil, mining, timber, and real-estate companies if we want them to do no harm.

A brand new year means that Pombo has a whole new opportunity to use his committee chair to sell off America's outdoor legacy to private developers. We need to make sure that Pombo does not get away with more backdoor budget tactics to benefit special interests. We need instead to safeguard our parks, coast, and other special places for all Americans.

WhatYouCanDo - This month's key action

First, please contact Rep. Pombo and ask him to support a budget process that ensures that our federal agencies have the tools they need to safeguard our natural legacy. Then join our campaign to educate residents of Pombo's district about current legislation in Congress and ask them to contact him on these legislative issues. It is an exceptional chance for our local efforts to make a national difference. Please volunteer to help. There are many opportunities. Pick one; pick several. Our individual efforts can add together to make a real difference for our wild lands and creatures.

We will have opportunities to do phoning from locations in the Danville/Pleasanton area, from Berkeley, and from San Francisco.

We will be staffing tables at farmers' markets in Pombo's district, and knocking at doors and talking with residents there, as well.

To join in, please contact Christina Armor at the Bay Chapter Office, (510) 848-0800, ext. 306, or email christina -at- sfbaysc.org.

The following are volunteer opportunities that have already been scheduled. We will be adding many more dates and times as our efforts advance. Contact us whether one of these times fits or you need others.

Phoning, 6 - 9 pm, from a location in the Danville/Pleasanton area:

every Tuesday

Precinct walking, talking to residents of Danville and Pleasanton:

every Saturday

Farmers' markets in Danville, Pleasanton, and Morgan Hill:

every Saturday