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1PR -02 -20.08 12:56 PN CWP 541 434 6494 P_01 <br />• <br />1 <br />CASCADIA WILDLANDS PRp E <br />EDUCATING, ORGANIZING, AND AGITATING FOR THE ECOSYST <br />PO PDX 10455 • EUGENE, OR 97440 541.434. 146) (TE1) - 54 1.4)4.6494 (FAX)fiNi,N�O CASACWKO.oAGA <br />WW W.CASCW1 LD,ORG <br />March 21, 2008 <br />ENDORSEMENT OF AMAZON HEADWATERS FOREST ACQUISITION <br />To Whom It May Concern, <br />Cascadia Wildlands Project has more than 1,000 members with long - standing interests in <br />protection and restoration of forests, waters and wildlife in the Pacific Northwest. Our members, <br />board of directors and staff routinely use and enjoy portions of the Amazon Headwaters Forest <br />south of Eugene, Oregon, for bird watching, botanizing, and the pursuit of peace and quiet. <br />We strongly support public acquisition of Amazon Headwaters Forest tracts from <br />willing private sellers and urge funding of the project for the following reasons: <br />• The acquisition will protect from residential development key remnants of low - elevation <br />Oregon white oak savannah, which are critical habitat for a variety of uncommon native <br />plant species including tall bugbane and wayside aster. <br />• The acquisition likewise will protect mature conifer forest stands approximately 70 to 90 <br />years old that over time could become old - growth stands on a portion of the landscape <br />where such habitat now drastically reduced from its historical extent. <br />• Riparian areas on the tracts provide habitat for locally rare red - legged frog that must be <br />protected. <br />• The acquisition would leverage private investment in active restoration of floodplains, <br />wetlands and stream channels on nearly 2,000 acres of the Amazon Creek headwaters, <br />potentially improving water quality. <br />• The acquisition has strategic value as part of a broader regional planning effort to protect <br />wildlife habitat and recreation corridors, and it will make a key addition to the 1,200 -acre <br />Ridgeline Park System. <br />We respectfully urge your support of the acquisition. <br />Sincerely, <br />— <br />/s/ Jay L' nger <br />Executive Director <br />