Christopher Ross’s article in the March 3 issue on logging in the Green Mountain National Forests was really informative and helpful. Kudos to organizations like Standing Trees and Vermont Family Forests for paying attention to the use of our national and state forests.

Given our climate crisis, the trees in our state and national forests should not be logged but allowed to mature so that they can sequester and store planet-warming carbon. The article also pointed out that the U.S. Forest Service is selling its timber far below cost, costing U.S. taxpayers roughly $1.7 billion per year. The rates should be changed.

Rep. Amy Sheldon has introduced bill H. 606 (wrongly reported in the article as H. 660), the “Community Resilience and Biodiversity Protection Act.” The goal of the bill is to conserve 30% of Vermont’s total land area. The Secretary of Natural Resources would be responsible for developing a conservation plan for achieving these goals.

I urge Vermonters to write to their state representatives, especially those on the Committee on Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife in support of H. 606.

Sarah Stott

Bristol