LETTER TO MY CONGRESSMAN

Hello Mr. Burgess:

My name is Carl, and I have lived in Texas all my life.  When you were a doctor, you delivered my brother Eric in Lewisville.

Right now I am employed by the Student Conservation Association (with the National Parks Service) and have made a short-term home in the Grand Tetons of Wyoming. 

I am very concerned about H.R. 1581, especially now that I have seen these beautiful areas in the West and know that once they are gone they may never return.  Especially, it seems, if this bill sets that precedent. 

The best argument I have heard is financial, that jobs can be created while building roads and doing construction work in these areas: I feel that is not a valid reason to impair or do away with so much pristine land and wildlife. 

Those hypothetical jobs would be better left in the hands of conservationists-in-training like myself and my 30 peers with the N.P.S. "Spring Break Academy": a hand-picked roster of college students from all over the United States who are ready to share their passion for conserving our lands and sustaining our environment with the kind of leadership exercised by Theodore Roosevelt.

Between the outcomes of pollution and land depredation if H.R. 1581 does pass, there is also the potential for injury to the national parks of the United States.  These monuments of our shared heritage are under immense and unnatural pressure to prove their worth, or else be chiseled away by budget cuts and legislative action such as H.R. 1581. 

The N.P.S. is doing everything in its power to rejuvenate and diversify its work force so it can meet all federal demands while incorporating a much wider cultural variety in its staff and visitors.  In fact that is specifically why I and my fellow Academy students are here in our respective parks.  We come from all races and backgrounds, and we are placed all over the country right now. 

We have the privilege to train as rangers, firefighters, curators, scientists, administrators, all with a love of nature and a philosophy of conservation and sustainability.  We are putting all our potential into these pursuits every day.  We strive to attain careers in conservation with the skills and values given us by the N.P.S. and S.C.A.     

In the meantime, I ask you to not support this bill and assure you that these lands are too important to modify so irreparably.  Thank you.