In the past year, many ofthe nation's leading home improvement retailers
including Home Depot, HomeBase, Menard's, Wickes, and Lowe's have committed 
to stop selling old growth wood products. Europe's B & Q and OBI, the world's third
and sixth largest home improvement retailers, have already begun to shift to
more sustainable wood sources. 84 Lumber, however, continues to sell products made
from some of the Earth's most endangered old growth forests.
Founded in 1956, 84 Lumber is the nation's largest privately-owned retail
 building materials company and the fifth largest home improvement retailer 
overall in the United States. The company's long history and steady growth 
make it an increasingly powerful retailer of lumber and building materials. Unfortunately,
84 Lumber has refused to join other industry leaders in working towards 
an end to ancient forest destruction.
Every day that 84 Lumber waits has dire consequences for the forests. Between
 1980 and 1990, the Brazilian Amazon lost ninety-one million acres of tropical 
forest. At current rates, nearly all of Southeast Asia's unprotected old growth
 forests will be destroyed within the next decade. In coastal British Columbia, 
only 68 out of 53 pristine watersheds have escaped logging, and nearly every 
one that remains is slated to be logged within the next ten years.

Recognizing the need to protect our remaining ancient forests, the nation's two
largest home buiMers, Centex Homes and Kaufman & Broad, recently agreed
to stop using old growth wood in home construction. "We know that the world's
old growth forests are threatened said Jeff Mezger of Kaufman and Broad. "Ultimately,
it is the responsibility of every individual and corporate citizen to do their
part for forest conservation.Clearly, a new ethic has emerged in the marketplace
in which old growth logging is viewed as outdated, unnecessary, and unethical.
The world's largest home improvement retailers and the country's largest home
huilders are committing to phase out wood from endangered forests. It is time
to end the barbaric practice of old growth logging once and for all. 84 Lumber's
competitors in the home improvement industry plan to phase out old growth 
wood and in its place offer more ecologically sound alternatives, including reclaimed
and recycled lumber, composite lumber, and independently certified wood. 
These companies have responded to the changing values of the American public 
and are taking crucial steps to help preserve the Earth's ancient forests. These
companies can do it, why can't 84 Lumber?

What You Can Do

Seventy-eight percent of the world's original old growth forests have already
 been logged or degraded. Please write to 84 Lumber today.' Demand that they commit 
to a reasonable timeline to phase out sales of old growth wood. Write to Ms. Margaret
 Hardy Magerko, President, 84 Lumber, Route 519, P0 Box 8484, Eighty Four, PA 15384.

Dear Ms. Magerko,
I am writing to urge 84 Lumber to stop selling wood from old growth forests.
 As a leader in the home improvement industry, you are in a unique position
 to help preserve our ancient forests for future generations.
Sadly, over seventy-eight percent of the world's original old growth forests 
have already been logged or degraded. Our remaining forests are being 
logged and then converted into products such as doors, shingles, and plywood
found on the shelves of 84 Lumber. With so many alternative products available,
there is no reason for this destruction to continue. Several major home improvement
retailers, including Home Depot, HomeBase, Wickes, Menard's, andLowe's,
have already committed to eliminate their sales of old growth forest products.
I strongly believe in the importance of protecting the Earth's last ancient forests.
I hope to support 84 Lumber as a company that shares my values. Please let 
me know what action your company plans to take on this critical issue.