BUSH ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES TO GUT ROADLESS RULE

BUSH ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES TO GUT ROADLESS RULE

6-13-03 -- Earlier this week, the Bush Administration proposed two devastating policies that would open up vast swaths of our last wild forests to destructive logging and road-building, and essentially gut the immensely popular Roadless Area Conservation Rule.

The first proposal allows the Forest Service to completely eliminate roadless area protections for all national forests in Alaska, including America's last wild rainforest, the Tongass National Forest. The second proposal would allow governors to exempt the national forests in their state from the roadless rule. Our Roadless Areas in Northern California are now at risk unless we raise a public outcry about how important they are to us.

As you may already know, the roadless rule protects 58.5 million acres of wild national forests from most commercial logging and road-building. With much of America's national forests already open to logging, mining, and drilling, the rule was intended to preserve the last third of undeveloped forest lands as a home for wildlife, haven for recreation, and a heritage for future generations. Special places like Mad River Buttes, Trinity Alps Wilderness Additions, and the Siskiyou Wilderness Additions are now at risk.

Next week the Western Governors Association is meeting to discuss forest policy and we need the nation's governors to know that the Administration's actions are a major step backwards, and that you oppose these changes to the roadless rule.

Please take a moment to call Governor Gray Davis
and tell him that you oppose these changes that
will weaken the Roadless rule and leave our national forests vulnerable to more development. Over the next several months, the Forest Service will be required to accept public comments regarding these proposed rollbacks to the roadless rule. It is vital that the American people speak up and let it be known that they love our forests and do not want to see them clear cut and roaded. Your participation will be crucial, so please stay tuned and keep voicing your support of protections for our last wild forests, because once they're gone, they're gone forever.

Thank you for your continued support!


SAMPLE LETTER BELOW
_____________________________________

Governor Gray Davis
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Governor Davis,

I'm writing to voice my opposition to the Bush administration's recently announced plans to weaken the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. On Monday, June 9, 2003 the administration outlined two proposed changes to the roadless rule that would completely undermine the protections this landmark conservation policy affords my national forests.

One of these changes would allow governors to seek exemptions from the roadless rule for their states.

Roadless areas in the Six Rivers, Shasta-Trinnty, Mendocino, and Klamth National Forests of northern California are our public lands that deserve federal protection. The roadless rule is a balanced policy that protects our last wild forests while making exceptions to ensure public health and safety. The rule was developed after years of debate and shares broad public support. Moreover, the Forest Service has received over 2.2 million comments in support of protecting our national forests.

As you know, the roadless rule protects 58.5 million acres of wild national forests from most commercial logging and road-building. With more than one-half of America's national forests already open to logging, mining, and drilling, the rule was intended to preserve the last third of undeveloped forest lands as a home for wildlife, haven for recreation, and a heritage for future generations.

The administration is also planning to exempt Alaska's
Tongass National Forest from the roadless rule. The Tongass is not only our largest national forest but the only coastal temperate rainforest in the United States. Their proposal would allow the Forest Service to move forward with 50 proposed timber sales in roadless areas that should be protected by the roadless rule.

I urge you to reject these harmful changes to the roadless rule that weaken the protections it provides my last wild forests in northern California. Additionally, I urge you to contact President Bush and ask him to uphold the original Roadless Area Conservation Rule as published in the Federal Register on January 12, 2001.

Thank you for your consideration of my concerns on this very important conservation issue.


Sincerely,

___________________
Your name

cc: Representative Mike Thompson, 317 3rd St., Eureka CA 95501

Senator Diane Feinstein, Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510

Senator Barbara Boxer, Senate Office Building, Washington DC 20510

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Governor's Office
Governor Gray Davis
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633
governor [at] governor.ca.gov


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