As the new home of WashPIRG's environmental work, Environment Washington can be contacted regarding this news release.
The Bush administration
announced today its proposal to repeal the Roadless Area Conservation Rule,
which was enacted in January 2001 to protect 58.5 million acres of pristine
national forests from most logging and road-building – including approximately
2 million acres in Washington State. The administration instead would require
governors to petition for protections for national forests in their states,
although there is no guarantee that protection would be granted.
“The Bush administration
has unleashed yet another assault on America’s last wild forests,”
stated WashPIRG Field Organizer Kasha Roseta. “This gutting of one of the
most widely-supported and far-reaching conservation initiatives ever implemented
is shocking, even for the current administration.”
The Roadless Rule protects
the last third of America’s national forests while allowing new road construction
to fight fires, ensure public safety and protect forest health. It is easily
the most widely-backed conservation initiative in our nation’s history,
having received a record-breaking 2.5 million public comments in support –
including over 81,000 from Washingtonians. These numbers prove that Americans
want national forests like Washington State’s Gifford-Pinchot and Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie
to remain untouched.
The Bush administration
already eliminated protections for Alaska’s Tongass National Forest from
the Roadless Rule, despite receiving at least 250,000 comments in opposition
to its proposal, including comments from major wood product consumers like Hayward
Lumber, Staples and K.B. Homes who have been industry leaders in speaking out
against the senseless destruction of America’s last wild forests.
“This latest attack
on our environment is yet another example of the Bush administration's pattern
of overlooking the public interest in order to cater to special interests. If
we are to continue to rely on our forests for clean drinking water, habitat
for wildlife and places for recreation and solitude, we must start protecting
them for future generations. Keeping the Roadless Rule intact in the Lower 48
and reinstating the rule in the Tongass would be a wise place to start,”
said Roseta.
