Lynn Scarlett, Acting Secretary
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240

RE: Stop illegal mahogany imports!

Dear Acting Secretary Scarlett,

I strongly urge you to take immediate action to stop the importation of illegally and unsustainably logged mahogany from Peru. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species prohibits imports of mahogany that are logged illegally or unsustainably. Nonetheless, illegal logging of mahogany continues to threaten the lives of isolated indigenous people and the wilderness areas they rely on for survival.

Despite extensive evidence of illegal logging, and repeated requests from indigenous communities in Peru, the Department of Interior continues to allow contraband mahogany to cross the U.S. border. In fact, the United States is the main importer of mahogany from Peru, responsible for more than 80 percent of the country's mahogany exports. Your agency must take steps immediately to stop this unsustainable and illegal practice, by eliminating incentives that allow timber companies to cheat the system.

Please enforce the rules that prohibit illegally logged mahogany from entering the United States, before more of Peru's rainforests are lost forever.

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