Dear Sunray Community and Friends,
There comes a time when each of us will receive a call from the heart (the wisdom within us) or from a source we cannot name, to act on behalf of the greater good of those we love, our communities, for Mother Nature herself. We are living in times in which we are being called to ask ourselves what world do we want to leave behind for seven generations to come and to act in whatever way we can to help shape that future.
Today, we learned of one such urgent call that we share with you that impacts the national Green Mountain Forest in Vermont…the great forest around the sacred land of Sunray’s Peace Village. The US National Forest System has announced its intention to begin a massive timber sale to logging companies of over 13,000 acres of which 10, 855 acres are mature and old forest up to 160 years old. Given this, the Telephone Gap timber sale has been characterized by Climate Forest, a national coalition of 120 environmental groups, as one of the worst logging projects on federal public land.
Indigenous People and folks who love Mother Earth understand the sacredness of trees and their inter-connectivity to all of life. Preserving trees, especially mature and old growth forests, is vital to our efforts to respond to the growing crisis of global climate change, which we humans continue to exacerbate because of our self-centeredness.
The nonprofit organization, Standing Trees, has put out a call to everyone who understands the importance of preserving mature and old forests for the well-being of Mother Earth, all of life, and the future we want for generations to come. You can learn about the Telephone Gap logging project by reading Standing Trees call to action and you can respond immediately (whether you live in Vermont or not, as this is a national public forest) by taking the following steps:
- Send a personal comment to the US Forest Service, which announced its Proposed Action for the Telephone Gap Integrated Resource Project in the Green Mountain National Forest, initiating a 45-day public comment period that will extend through Monday, March 13th. This comment period is the first formal opportunity for the public to weigh in on the project after a year of delays. You can refer to Standing Trees Fact Sheet.
- Attend a virtual information and action meeting on this project hosted by Standing Trees and coalition partners are holding a virtual information and action session on Wednesday, Feb 15th at 6:30pm hosted by Standing Trees and its coalition partners.
- Continue to make prayers for the continued well-being of Mother Earth and all of life.
“We are basket weavers. We are weaving the future…There is nothing to run from. Whatever is disturbing, understand behind it is the thrill of transmutation…We are the dreamers of tomorrow…We are the parents of tomorrow.” —Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo
Sunray Ministry