State attorney general to speak on forest protection

California attorney general Bill Lockyer will be the featured speaker at a community meeting being held at 7:30pm on Tuesday, May 17, at the Eaton Canyon Nature Center in Pasadena. His talk will be entitled 'Protecting Our Forests for a Generation to Come.' With the final management plans for our local national forests due to be released this summer, this is an ideal opportunity to learn how you can make a difference in shaping the future of our 'backyard' forests.

Lockyer has long been a champion of California's environment. He has fought hard against numerous efforts by the federal government to undermine and ignore key environmental safeguards. An effective leader in defending our state's magnificent national forests, he has filed lawsuits to stop Bush administration plans for increased logging in the Sierra Nevada and in Giant Sequoia National Monument. In Southern California, he has worked to help get the best management plans possible to protect the Angeles and Cleveland national forests.

There will be a reception at 7pm, free and open to the public, as is the main event. The program is co-sponsored by the Southern California Forests Campaign and the Angeles Chapter's Forest Committee. The Eaton Canyon Nature Center is located at 1750 North Altadena Drive, 1.5 miles north of the 210 Freeway and one block north of New York Drive in Pasadena, California. There is a sign on the east side of Altadena Drive which marks the entrance to the center. For more information contact John Monsen, 213-387-6528, ext. 203.