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Are you paying to destroy habitat for tigers and other wildlife?

by Rodger Schlickeisen

Across the world, illegal logging, driven by the demand for cheap wood products, is destroying vital habitat for tigers, jaguars, orangutans and other wildlife… and driving some of the planet's most beloved wildlife to the brink of extinction.

We can stop the destruction. Urge your Senators to co-sponsor the Combat Illegal Logging Act of 2007 (S.1930) today and take a concrete step to save the places our wildlife needs to survive.

The insatiable demand for cheap wood products and luxury hardwoods in the United States, Europe and Japan is driving illegal logging operations worldwide. Yet America has no law against importing illegally harvested wood into the U.S.

From Borneo to the Amazon to Siberia, illegal logging is the first step in a devastating cycle of forest habitat loss, animal poaching and carbon emissions.

Indonesia: a U.N. report estimates that 98% of Indonesia's forests -- home to orangutans, sun bears, tigers and rhinos -- could disappear within 20 years. The government of Indonesia estimates that 73% of all logging in the country is illegal;

Peru: The Amazon -- where jaguars, ocelots, and macaws thrive -- is under attack by mahogany traffickers. The vast majority of Peruvian mahogany -- 80% of which is illegally logged -- is destined for the U.S.;

Russia: The Far Eastern forests, home to the planet's largest cat, the Amur tiger, are being leveled to feed the factories and furniture mills of China, many of which send products to the U.S.

Encourage your Senators to support a ban on the importation of illegally logged wood and help save vital habitat for tigers, jaguars and other wildlife.

Illegal logging triggers a chain of events that results in further deforestation, large fires and carbon emissions. This reckless and unregulated logging often occurs in national parks and indigenous reserves, destroying large areas of intact habitat that many critically endangered species need to survive.

The Combat Illegal Logging Act -- introduced by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) -- will give enforcement agencies a powerful tool in the fight against illegal timber traffickers by making it a crime to knowingly import, sell, buy or transport illegally-sourced wood and wood products.

It's time to send a message to international timber syndicates that America will no longer accept the environmental destruction that comes with illegal logging. Please take action today…