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Stop the Roadless Rule Rollback
Our national forests cannot handle more logging roads
Public comment period ends: November 15, 2004
Lumber corporations and other natural resource companies could soon be able to plow, bulldoze and pillage our national forests. Despite over two million public comments urging the adoption of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, the Bush administration is now attempting to reverse the popular protection. The rollback of the Roadless Rule will leave 58.5 million acres of national forest land, including 18 national forests in California, vulnerable to logging, mining and drilling.
The Roadless Rule Protects:
- our watersheds which provide clean drinking water
- our old-growth forests
- critical habitats for endangered animals like mountain lions, grizzly bears, and wild salmon
- fishing streams and other resources that would be devastated by landslides resulting from erosion
The Roadless Rule Makes Economic Sense:
- Roadless areas in public forests generate $600 million annually from recreational activities such as fishing, hiking, and camping.
- Roadbuilding in national forests is a form of corporate welfare. The taxpayers fund road construction, and the companies make the profit.
- Only 4% of the US timber supply comes from public lands. Ending all logging on public lands would not precipitate any sort of “supply crisis.”
- Currently the U.S. Forest Service cannot adequately maintain all 430,000 miles of roads that already exist in our national forests.
This July, the Bush administration proposed to exempt ALL national forests from the Roadless Rule, which would leave protection up to the discretion of individual state governors. As you know, it is all too common for elected officials to place corporate interests above those of the public.
What You Can Do
Our national forests are a public trust too valuable to be logged. Write to Secretary Veneman and Forest Service Chief Bosworth and ask them to keep the Roadless Area Conservation Rule intact. See our sample letter for details.
Attn: Roadless State Petitions
USDA Forest Service
P.O. Box 221090
Salt Lake City, UT 84122
Fax: (801) 517-1014
Email statepetitionroadless@fs.fed.us or use the comment form at regulations.gov.
