If you love trees(well,at least like them a little!) and hate seeing ugly and often dilapidated billboards when traveling our state's highways, you may want to take the opportunity to contact you State Representative and ask them to vote NO on HB 1097.

This is an attempt by special interests to negate a court ruling that the public must be compensated by Advertising Companies and others, when cutting trees and vegetation on Public Lands and that any removal must be approved. HB1097 would allow removal of trees on highway right of way without any compesation whatsoever.

The DOT is already doing unnecessary(IMO) removal and damage to vegetation by wholesale and clear cutting trees in the interest of "SAFETY"? I have seen pulp wood companies hauling away 18 wheeler loads of trees from DOT ROW.

For every tree that's removed, air quality can only deteriorate!

Rb