Dear Mrs. Shedd :

Thank you for contacting me regarding the selling of national forest land. It is good to hear from you. Since President Theodore Roosevelt, the preservation of our nation's lands and natural treasures has proven essential, and the focus of the U.S. Forest Service continues to be on containing disastrous wildfires, reducing damage from invasive species, providing outdoor recreational activities, improving watershed conditions, and remaining a world leader in forestry research and conservation. Be assured, I will continue to work toward these goals and to support adequate preservation of our nation's forests and lands.

           In his commitment to states and counties that have been impacted by lower timber harvests on federal lands, President Bush proposed a five year extension of the Secure Rural School and Community Self Determination Act. To offset the $800 million needed for this extension the President proposed selling parcels of U.S. National Forest land that are isolated from other contiguous National Forests Systems lands and because of their size and location or configuration are not efficient to manage.

The Forest Service owns 193 million acres of land and plans to sell about 175,000 to 200,000 acres. The lands in question aren't environmentally sensitive wilderness or protected scenic areas. It could be something that's in a neighborhood that people don't even know is forest land.

Rural schools get 25 percent of federal forest timber sale proceeds, but those revenues have fallen, so the idea is to sell forest land to make up for the decrease in returns. The president's new fiscal 2007 federal budget calls for the bureau to raise $1 million in 2007 land sales, $28 million in 2008, $40 million in 2009, $42 million in 2010 and $71 million in 2011.

I voted in favor of H.R. 2389, the " Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000," in order to stabilize payments to counties to help support roads and schools, provide projects that enhance forest ecosystem health and provide employment opportunities, and to improve cooperative relationships among Federal land management agencies and those who use and care about the lands the agencies manage.

A candidate list of land is available now and after the comment period has ended, an updated candidate list will be revised and sent to Congress for approval. In the primary candidate list, the U.S. Forest Service lists 4,522 acres available in the state of Georgia. After the final list has been submitted to Congress I will carefully consider the benefits to rural schools that can be realized by the sale of some of this land. I appreciate knowing your thoughts on this issue.

There are 620 public schools in Georgia that are rural, which accounts for 30% of the schools in our state. In total, there are over 430,000 students attending rural schools in Georgia. P roviding real financial commitments to public schools is a priority of mine. My votes in the United States Senate will support higher standards, increased funding in the classroom, and more local control in public school systems. I look forward to providing all Georgia students with access to a greater education.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me. If you would like to receive timely email alerts regarding the latest congressional actions and my weekly e-newsletter, please sign up via my web site at: www.chambliss.senate.gov . Please do not hesitate to be in touch if I may ever be of assistance to you.