I WRITE to pledge the full support of Friends of the Forest to your campaign to protect the Forest of Dean (which you correctly describe as "our Forest").

I was pleased to read that Keith Morgan, of Dean Forest Voice, raises the possibility of forming an alliance with other environmental groups over this matter. Friends of the Forest have tried unsuccessfully on several occasions to get DFV on board over the question of Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). It seems obvious to us that AONB status would make this looming threat far more difficult to achieve.

It will not be generally known that Baroness Jan Royall, who has taken up the cudgels against this threat of the Public Bodies Bill in the House of Lords, is the proud patron of our organisation which continues to campaign for designation of the Dean district as an AONB. With Baroness Royall's aid, our group, together with CPRE and the Gloucestershire branch of Friends of the Earth, are in a dialogue with Natural England over this matter.

Natural England was fairly recently formed to take over such designation issues from the now defunct Countryside Agency, which, for years, had been dragging its feet over AONB status for the Forest of Dean.

In these modern times, the value of forests to the well-being of our planet, and hence all its inhabitants is increasingly understood by everyone, except, apparently, our present Government. Its worship of money and its desire to line the pockets of its favoured friends and supporters quite obviously come before integrity, the environment and the rights of the real owners of the nation's woodlands – the public who pay the salary of all Members of Parliament.

Our long-standing local MP, Mark Harper, seems content that it should be sold off, and has yet to show the slightest interest in doing anything to protect this very precious area. Unbelievably, he seems, even now, not to know the intense love his constituents have for our woodlands.

Well, he had better get a grip on this issue and prepare himself to fully represent the wishes of the majority of Forest of Dean people – and not the money-grabbing minority, most of whom will not be Foresters. This is largely an ancient and royal forest. It is a unique area. If places such as this and the New Forest are not safe from insensitive and greedy Government mismanagement, then nothing is sacrosanct.

We call upon all Foresters to unite over this matter, as we successfully did back in the 1990s when a previous Government tried to sell off our woodlands. (Will they never learn)?

Hopefully, each parish and town council in this district will act immediately to oppose the very idea of our ancient natural recreation grounds falling into the hands of those who view this veritable jewel as nothing more than a money-making opportunity to be exploited.

Colin Smith

Chairman

Friends of the Forest