Imagine driving the 140 miles northeast from Hoodsport to Forks and seeing mostly tree stumps and slash piles where the Olympic National Forest now stands.

That destruction could easily be a byproduct of the Fix Our Forests Act, but we don’t know because details of the bill are being withheld from us.

From us, as in “We the People of the United States” — the first seven words of a document that established the U.S. government exists to serve its citizens. Doesn’t it seem like the tables have turned?

At the heart of the Fix Our Forests Act are “fireshed management areas.” A fireshed management area is federal land deemed “at risk of forest conversion due to wildfire.” That’s legislative doublespeak for any federal land that is at risk of a forest fire.

If you can name a forest in the United States that isn’t at risk of a forest fire now or in the future, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

In plain speak, the Fix Our Forests Act is an attempt by the Republican lawmaker who wrote it and those lawmakers who support it to reduce the threat of forest fires by reducing forests. It really is that simple.

How do you reduce forests? By logging. Who logs forests? The timber industry. What do they log? Trees. Reducing forests means cutting down older trees. That’s where the money is. Period.

I nearly forgot: The bill “limits litigation involving fireshed management projects and limits remedies that courts may provide.” More doublespeak. “Fireshed management projects” is three words for one: “logging.”

“Limits remedies” refers to the legal efforts of tree-huggers and wildlife lovers like me to stop a logging company from cutting down the few remaining older forests. The Fix Our Forests Act would fight such behavior.

I could point out that 66 million Americans rely on a national forest as their water source, and that the forests are habitat for wildlife and are wonderful places for fishing, hunting, hiking and camping, and that they help protect communities from floods and landslides.

I could also point out that forests help cool our air and absorb and store carbon in their leaves, branches, trunks and roots. Furthermore, logging older forests does not reduce the threat of wildfires, because the thick bark and high water content of large trees offer natural resistance to fire.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fix Our Forests Act on Jan. 23 with a vote of 279 to 141. The bill now requires approval from the Senate and President Trump’s signature to become law.

Democratic Representative Emily Randall, whose district encompasses the entire Olympic Peninsula, voted against the Fix Our Forests Act. She deserves our respect.

Among the representatives who voted in favor of the terrible bill were Washington Democrats Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Kim Schrier. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., did not cast a vote. She might as well have voted yes.

If anyone has doubts about whether our president supports the Fix Our Forests Act, on March 1 he issued an executive order aimed at increasing timber production, weakening Endangered Species Act protections to expedite timber sale approvals, and raising the target for timber available for sale annually.

It’s understandable if you weren’t aware of the bill or thought it was a positive initiative. “Fix our forests” sounds noble, and keeping up with Beltway news has become challenging these days. Plus, the bill is deceptive and unnecessarily complex.

Additionally, 280 million acres of federal forests blanket our vast country. Billions and billions of timber dollars are at stake. I would be surprised if the timber industry does not send nasty, misleading letters to the editors of every journalist who exposes the Fix Our Forests Act for the fraud it is, in an attempt to silence them. Please spell my name correctly.

Many Americans today shake their heads in disbelief at the news coming out of Washington, D.C. They feel frustrated, believing they have little influence over the state of America and the direction it’s heading.

I’m reminded of a conversation I had with my high school biology teacher 50 years ago. I remember telling Mike Melanson, “What can I do about it? I’m just one person.” To which Melanson replied: “I’ve yet to meet anyone who was two people.”

If you love forests and the creatures that inhabit them, I urge you to send a note to both of your U.S. senators. The note could read: “I live in Washington and do not want you to vote in favor of the Fix Our Forests Act.”

Washington’s U.S. senators, Democrats Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, genuinely want to know your position on the bill. Please write to them using their online forms. Nature will love you for it.

Scott Doggett is a former staff writer for the Outdoors section of the Los Angeles Times. He and his wife, Susan Englen, live in Port Townsend.