Environment America is the new home of U.S. PIRG’s environmental work.
As millions of Americans prepare to
spend their Memorial Day weekend in our national forests, Congress unites in a bi-partisan effort
to protect those areas for future generations.
More than 140 House Democrats and Republicans, led by Reps. Jay Inslee
(D-WA), Christopher Shays (R-CT), George Miller (D-CA), Mark Kirk (R-IL),
Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN) introduced legislation today that
would provide permanent protection for 58.5 million acres of pristine forest
land in 39 states. This would include
9.3 million acres of North America’s only coastal temperate rainforest -- Alaska’s
Tongass National
Forest. Sens.
Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and John Warner (R-VA), along with 16 of their
colleagues, introduced a companion bill in the U.S. Senate.
“We commend these members for
their leadership in protecting our last wild forests," said Robert Vandermark, director of the Heritage Forests Campaign.
"With the administration determined to undermine the Roadless Area
Conservation Rule and moving forward with plans that would place our last
pristine forests at risk, congressional action to stop these efforts could not
be more timely.”
In May 2005, the Bush
administration repealed the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, placing millions
of acres of national forest land at risk of road construction, commercial
logging, oil and gas drilling and mining exploration. However, a recent ruling
in the Ninth Circuit Court has found the administration’s repeal illegal and
has reinstated the 2001 roadless rule as the law of the land. The Bush
administration, along with the timber industry, filed an appeal challenging
this judgment on April 9, 2007, with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
“The Bush administration
continues to promote dangerous activities in roadless areas,” said US PIRG
Forests Advocate Christy Goldfuss. "Fortunately, the administration may
not get the last word. The American people have called for protections for our
last wild places, the courts have upheld those protections, and now Congress
wants to make those protections permanent.”
The rule was approved in January
2001 following years of scientific study, more than 600 public hearings across
the country, and 1.6 million official public comments. While protecting the
last one-third of our threatened national forests from most logging and
road-building, the rule allows new roads to be constructed in order to fight
fires and ensure public health and safety.
"Roadless forests are vital to maintaining viable
populations of wildlife, especially large carnivores such as wolves and grizzly
bears. These forests, where much of our remaining old growth is found, also
play an important role in the fight against global warming by removing huge
amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere," says Rodger Schlickeisen, president
of Defenders of Wildlife.
The National
Forest System contains over 380,000 miles of roads and 60,000 miles of unmapped
logging roads, enough to circle the globe 17 times. Only 21 percent of these
roads meet adequate road maintenance standards. The current road maintenance
backlog is estimated at $10 billion, with 16 states maintaining a backlog of
$100 million each.
“Today’s congressional action is supported by
businesses, academics, leaders of the faith community, labor unions and
sportsmen. They simply understand that protecting our remaining wild forests
and the clean water, wildlife habitat and outstanding backcountry recreation
they hold help to create more jobs and economic benefits than
taxpayer-subsidized commercial logging,” said Sean Cosgrove of the Sierra Club.
"This legislation will
protect some of the last truly wild, roadless lands in America. We are very grateful to the sponsors for advocating
for the protection of these lands for our children and all future
generations," said Caitlin Love Hills, director of the National Forest
Program at the American Lands Alliance
“Congressional efforts today
represent the will of the American people and sound science – ensuring a
natural legacy for future generations to enjoy,” said Bill Meadows, president
of The Wilderness Society.
