This from the American Hiking Society

A new bill in the House of Representatives will make telecommunications towers "ubiquitous," including in national parks, forests, and wildlife refuges. This bill takes the position that there is nothing more important than a good connection on one’s cell phone - not even preserving the wilderness and natural qualities of our public lands. Please contact your House Member and ask him or her to oppose Section 715 of Rep. Tauzin’s Wireless Communication and Public Safety Act (HR3844).

Under current law - the Telecommunications Act of 1996 - telecommunications companies are allowed to site towers in national parks and forests. However, they must comply with environmental laws, such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and guidelines established by the National Park Service, Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management to protect the natural and scenic qualities of the lands they manage. This bill would change all of that.

HR 3844 would open up public lands to a grid of telecommunications towers, practically eliminating the ability of the Park Service, Forest Service or BLM to object. Over the next three years, over 100,000 new towers will be erected. When consumers demand better connections and more privacy, telecommunications companies must site towers closer together - even as close as one mile - to access higher frequencies. American Hiking Society believes that trails and natural areas can co-exist with telecommunications technology. However, we must preserve a balance between the needs of business and the lands Americans have strived to protect for over a century. Please call or write your Congress Member as soon as you can and urge him or her to oppose Section 715 of HR 3844.