John,

The forests of the southern Sierra Nevada are home to plants and animals you can find nowhere else, none more iconic than the giant sequoia.

The largest trees on the planet, the sequoias emerge from the canopy like sentinels watching over the entire forest.1

These trees are precious and need protection, but a bill recently re-introduced in Congress called the "Save Our Sequoias" Act doesn't live up to its name.

By undercutting environmental review, this bill could set a dangerous precedent threatening the health of the sequoias and the entire ecosystem that surrounds them.

Urge your U.S. representative to not be fooled by this bill's flashy name. The sequoias deserve better.

The giant sequoias have been facing extreme drought and wildfires supercharged by climate change. They need our help, but this bill isn't the answer.2

The so-called "Save Our Sequoias" Act would allow logging projects to thwart environmental review processes through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA).3

These protections are among our most valuable tools in preventing ecological destruction. Without them, there's no way to ensure forestry projects are doing enough to protect the endangered creatures that call these forests home.

Tell your U.S. representative: Saving sequoias shouldn't require rolling back endangered species protections.

The bill would also transfer responsibility over these regions away from the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service to the unregulated Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition.4

Without processes in place to ensure that the coalition protects wildlife habitats and gets public feedback, the logging projects approved might be rushed and poorly planned, damaging habitat and soil.5

At a time when our bedrock environmental laws are at risk, this bad bill is a slippery slope leading to a valley of tree stumps.6

Giant sequoias are the guardians of the entire Sierra Nevada ecosystem. We can't let them become justification for its destruction.

Tell your U.S. representative: Rushed, unregulated logging will not save the sequoias.

Thank you,

Ellen Montgomery

1. "Giant Sequoias," National Park Service, last accessed April 16, 2025.
2. Jim Robbins, "California's Giant Sequoias Are in Big Trouble," Wired, November 18, 2023.
3. Ellen Montgomery, "Why do environmental groups oppose the bill to 'Save Our Sequoias?'" Environment America, April 30, 2023.
4. Twilight Greenaway, "In California, a Race to Save the World's Largest Trees From Megafires," Inside Climate News, September 23, 2022.
5. Ellen Montgomery, "Why do environmental groups oppose the bill to 'Save Our Sequoias?'" Environment America, April 30, 2023.
6. Elinor Smith, "Trump plan would hobble the National Environmental Policy Act," Montana Public Radio, March 25, 2025.