Here is a re-post of an action alert sent out by the NC Sierra Club Chapter.
Dear Friends,
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Take a look at the picture on the right. There used to be trees below that billboard. This type of clearcutting is going to be commonplace along North Carolina’s roads now that the Department of Transportation has to enact a measure passed last year by the state legislature.
But you can click here to let them know the public’s trees shouldn’t just be given away.
That bill that passed last year was S 183 – The Selective Vegetation Removal Act. This bill was a giveaway to the billboard industry, and it was the public’s trees that got given.
If you want to speak out on the new rules in person, you have two chances left – one in Asheville and one near Greenville.
Here’s that info:
Monday, August 13, 2012 at 7:00 pm
City of Asheville Public Works Building – Room A-109
161 Charlotte St.
Asheville, NC (map)
Monday, August 20, 2012 at 7:00 pm
Pitt Community College, Goess Center – Room 137
1986 Pitt Tech Rd.
Winterville, NC (map)
Wondering what to say? Here are a couple of key points:
The DOT needs to assess the fair market value of the trees to be cut and have the billboard companies reimburse the state. DOT has said that 70,000 trees will be cut with a value of 56 million dollars, yet the cost benefit analysis shows zero benefit to the billboard industry.
The billboard companies should pay DOT’s administrative costs for implementation of this law.
DOT rules should protect our stream banks and local environmental ordinances.
Allow local governments to have notification, input, and right of appeal.
Now that you’ve got that down, there’s no time like the present to have your say.
You can also make comments by phone, fax, and mail. Here’s that info:
Fax at 919-733-9105
Phone at 919-707-2800
Online:
https://apps.dot.state.nc.us/ContactUS/PostComment.aspx?Unit=Rules
Mail: APA Coordinator, 1501 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1501
Thanks for speaking up!
Yours,
Dustin Chicurel-Bayard
Communications Director, NC Sierra Club
P.S. – Make sure that the DOT knows that the public’s trees should not just be given away. Click here demand that billboard companies pay for the trees they cut!
