Speakers including Jack Ellerby from Friends of the Lake District, all voiced the crowd's concern that the public will not be allowed the same level of access to the Forestry Commission's public woodlands if the Government continues with its plan to sell off the public forests.

The conservation charity launched its ‘Stop the Sell Off' campaign last week and is working together with the Saveourlakelandsforests website campaign, and urges the public to respond to the public consultation, which opened on Thursday (27 Jan).

Jack said: ‘We are delighted that so many people turned out to protest about the Government's plans yesterday. But this is only the beginning of the fight to protect the nation's woodlands. The coalition Government wants to sell off our woodlands and right now this means 30-40% of the woodlands in the Lake District National Park could pass into private ownership, with free access for cycling, horseriding, canoeists, and picnic areas potentially closed off - what effect will that have on local people's enjoyment and tourists and the revenue they bring to the area?

‘Private owners for forests will have profit in mind - which could mean a return to large tracts of fast growing non-native spruce, and all the wildlife and habitat deterioration that could bring.

‘All this doesn't have to happen. Join our campaign to fight the sell off. You can have your say - please respond to the public consultation, and write to your MP.

The public consultation is on Defra's website and you can respond to it here:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/forests/index.htm

You have until 21 April to tell the Government what you think.

Friends of the Lake District is a charity dedicated to protecting the landscape of Cumbria and the Lake District. As part of their ‘Stop the Sell Off of Lake District's Woodlands' campaign, so far the charity has:

- Raised the stakes in the public eye with extensive media coverage. Our policy officer Jack Ellerby and vice president Sir Chris Bonington have appeared in the national media talking about the sell off.

- Worked with the 38degrees online campaign (www.38degrees.org.uk)
to increase opposition at a national level.

- Asked our members and contacts to write to their MPs and Government ministers.

- Worked with the ‘Save Lakeland's Forests' local campaign and talked to lots of different users of the forests like mountain bikers, climbers and ramblers.

- Networked with other areas of the country, like the Forest of Dean.

- Lobbied the Lords to stop Government plans to change the law to allow them to sell off all the public forest land.

- There's so much more to do if we are to change the Government's mind, so please if you care about the future of our forests... Join Friends of the Lake District.

Read more about why selling off our forests is a bad idea.

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