It was really wonderful to see so many people and so many diverse groups coming together at the May 1st “Put People and the Planet First Rally” at the State House. There were over forty groups present ranging in size from the tiny Vermont Chapter of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship to primary organizer of the event, the Vermont Workers Center. And their cries for justice ranged from worker’s rights to dealing with climate change.
It was also great to have diverse groups speak out on the need to protect our Vermont Forests.
Our Vermont forest cover is now actually declining for the first time in decades due to population growth and development and this should be of major concern to all Vermonters.
The Vermont Chapter of the Sierra Club has launched the “Our Forests our Future Campaign” in combination with Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe and several other organizations. The purpose of this campaign is to be sure our forests are protected for wildlife so that as global warming happens and wildlife needs to migrate they will have corridors of uninterrupted forests to do so. It will be done by increasing the number of community forests, tribal forests, and land with conservation easements. Of course our forests are also important as a source of energy and for carbon sequestering.
Please support the campaign by encouraging your town, city, and state officials to become knowledgeable about the campaign and to allocate some resources now while there is still the opportunity to preserve our forests.
George Plumb
Washington
883-2313
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