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For Immediate Release
Bush Administration Guts Protection for Roadless Forests: Millions of Acres of Wild National Forests Immediately at Risk
WASHINGTON – Defenders of Wildlife President Rodger Schlickeisen called today's move by the Bush Administration to drop protection for millions of acres of roadless national forest land "a crass rejection of science, public participation and conservation on behalf of a handful of timber industry backers." The announcement by the U.S. Forest Service completely withdraws the landmark 2001 Roadless Area Conservation rule, which protected 58.5 million acres of unroaded national forest lands for wildlife habitat, recreation, clean water and purposes other than resource extraction. Today's action eliminates all these protections, leaving in place a state petition process that immediately exposes all national forest lands to logging, mining, and energy drilling.
"It is truly breathtaking just how beholden this White House is to industry," Schlickeisen said. "Gutting protection for our last truly wild public forests is absolute validation that there is no place so special this administration will not drill, mine or clear cut."
Unlike the Roadless Rule itself, which was adopted after more than 600 public hearings and 2.5 million public comments in favor, today's announcement follows no public hearings, no scientific scrutiny, and more than 1.7 million public comments in opposition. In place of nationwide protections crafted through an open and public process, today's new rule adopts a piecemeal approach, requiring individual states to petition the federal government to protect individual roadless areas. Even if an individual governor did petition for protection, the U.S. Forest Service could still deny his/her request.
"The timber industry didn't like the idea that the best remaining wildlife habitat in our National Forests might actually be necessarily and legitimately set aside for something other than clear cuts, so they had their allies in the White House change the rules," Schlickeisen said. "All the other values in our forests – like recreation, clean drinking water, and homes for forest wildlife – get dumped by this rule so that the White House can keep cutting down to the last tree and drilling for the last drop of oil."
Schlickeisen said Defenders of Wildlife intends to engage lawmakers and other stakeholders to find a national approach that will rightfully reinstate protection for these unique national public lands.
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