I FIRST visited the Forest in 1963.  In subsequent visits over the years I came to love and appreciate the region as I established closer bonds with our family.

 The provisions of the Public Bodies Bill are in line with current efforts gaining momentum in the U.K., the U.S.A. and elsewhere, aimed at reducing government and decentralisation of long-established government activities.  Cloaked in the trappings of increased local involvement and "reform" the provisions of the Bill will inevitably result in exploitation of the resources involved.

At best, the Public Bodies Bill has been motivated by well-intentioned beliefs, however superficial.  At worst, the Bill is the product of scarcely concealed cynical political opportunism.  Whatever the true intent, it is a fundamentally bad idea.

By replacing the focused management of the Forestry Commission with a hotch-potch of "civil society organisations, businesses, local authorities and individuals," accountability – the most basic element of management – will become diluted, cross-purposed and ineffective.  Moreover, the damage done will be irrevocable.

With regard to the Forest Commission, I am unaware of problems or criticism generating a need for the changes envisioned by the Public Bodies Bill.  At stake is not only the Forest of Dean but that of all of the forests in the United Kingdom.  They play a primary role in the very fabric of the nation and should continue to be preserved and managed as the symbolic national entities they are.

– Norman R Kear, California, USA.