As the new home of WashPIRG's environmental work, Environment Washington can be contacted regarding this news release.
WASHINGTON, DC—Members
of Congress, including Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Representative Jay
Inslee (D-WA01), joined environmental groups in Washington, D.C., today to call
on the Bush administration to protect roadless areas in our national forests.
"In the Northwest,
we treasure our national forests and appreciate their contributions to our economy
and quality of life," said Senator Maria Cantwell, "We are committed
to conserving roadless areas for future generations to enjoy. The Bush administration
pledged to spare our roadless areas from harm. Expecting this administration
to keep its promise and protect roadless areas shouldn't be too much to ask."
Since Cantwell has been
in office, she has fought to defend the Roadless Rule, by championing legislation
to codify the rule in statute and by securing a commitment from Attorney General
John Ashcroft to defend the roadless rule. Despite his commitment, the Department
of Justice has not followed Ashcroft's commitment to defend the rule in court.
"It is sad that the
administration has asked taxpayers to subsidize timber company road building
instead of upholding a commitment made three years ago to preserving these pristine
areas," said Representative Jay Inslee. "We must continue to protect
the treasures of our last remaining roadless areas, and oppose the administration's
efforts to foot the public with the bill for the logging industry's roads."
Rep. Inslee has championed
the protection of roadless areas, in part, because they provide clean drinking
water and recreational enjoyment to many Washingtonians, and are less likely
to have catastrophic wildfires.
Three years ago yesterday
on May 4, 2001, Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman pledged to uphold the Roadless
Area Conservation Rule saying, "We're here today to announce the Department's
decision to uphold the Roadless Area Conservation Rule."
However, since then little
has been done to honor that pledge. Last year, on Christmas Eve, The Forest
Service exempted 9 million acres of the Tongass National Forest —America's
largest—from the rule and took the first steps to exempt another 5 million
roadless acres in Alaska's Chugach National Forest. Even as the Forest Service
prepares for timber sales in several Alaskan roadless areas, Undersecretary
Mark E. Rey recently announced that further changes to the rule affecting the
lower 48 states are imminent.
"The Forest Service
has ignored the wishes of Washingtonians, and done the bidding of timber industries
for long enough" said WashPIRG's Aisling Kerins. "It's time for the
Bush administration to keep their word and uphold protections for Washington's
roadless forests."
Unprecedented in its overwhelming
popularity, the roadless rule garnered 10 times more public comments than any
federal rule in history. The Forest Service received more than 2.5 million comments
including 81,762 from Washington residents—of those 96 percent supported
protection of roadless areas.
"The Forest Service
has overreached in its single-minded attempts to weaken the Roadless Area Conservation
Rule," said Tom Uniack, Conservation Director for the Washington Wilderness
Coalition. "The ultimate protections established in the Rule were the result
of overwhelming support from the American public as part of the largest federal
public process the Forest Service has ever seen."
During the development of
the rule, the Forest Service held more than 600 hearings including local hearings
throughout the State in Spokane, Colville, Vancouver, Morton, Seattle, Everett,
Sedro-Woolley, Omak, Okanogan, Port Angeles, Olympia, Port Angeles, Olympia,
Walla Walla, Wenatchee, and Ellensburg.
"For 28 years, rural
grassroots groups have sought protection of roadless areas in the Kettle River
Range," said Timothy Coleman, Executive Director of Kettle Range Conservation
Group. "Contrary to promises from the Bush administration to help residents
find a balanced solution to this longstanding issue, they have instead created
conflict in rural America and eroded common sense protections for our last remaining
wild forests in the name of special interests"
The Roadless Area Conservation Rule is a historic conservation initiative enacted
in January 2001 under the Clinton administration to protect 58.5 million acres
of wild national forest land from most commercial logging and road-building.
The rule currently protects more than two million acres of roadless areas in
Washington State. These roadless areas include some of the most important and
well known forests in our state, including areas in the Colville National Forest's
Kettle Range, the Dark Divide Roadless Area located between Mt. St. Helens and
Mt Adams in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and most of the proposed Wild
Sky Wilderness, including the Eagle Rock Roadless Area.
