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National Roadless Area Conservation Rule - US House of Representatives to vote on amendment

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URGENT action needed:

IT'S TIME FOR ACTION TO PROTECT OUR WILD FORESTS! CALL YOUR U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TODAY - TOLL FREE (888-569-8906)!

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to VOTE NEXT WEEK on the ROADLESS RULE. Just ONE FREE CALL Helps Protect Roadless Areas in the Tongass and Chugach National Forests and other wild forests nationwide.

With the Bush Administration still dragging its heels nearly a year after its pledge to implement the National Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Congress is ready to say enough is enough and ensure the Roadless Rule takes effect. The Roadless Rule protects the last remaining untouched, unprotected wild areas of America's National Forests - one-quarter of which are within the Tongass and Chugach in Alaska. Alaska's rainforest has the most to gain from roadless protection and the most to lose by anti-conservation rollbacks. America's National Forests in Alaska have the most existing logging roads, the most areas without roads, and face the overwhelming threat of 28 timber sales in roadless areas that should be protected by the Rule.

Early next week, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on a ROADLESS RULE amendment to the Interior Appropriations bill. The Roadless Rule Amendment would provide a critical one- year "time out" on harmful industrial including halting activities.

Calls are needed from wild forest supporters from across the country urging their Representatives to SUPPORT the Roadless Rule. Take part and call the Capitol switchboard TOLL FREE at 888-569-8906 or at 202-224-3121.

Ask for your Representative and tell them you want their support on the Roadless Rule Amendment.

Sample message: Hi, my name is _____ and I'm a constituent calling from _______ (city or town). I'm calling to ask Representative _______ to vote for the Roadless Rule amendment to protect roadless areas in our national forests from road-building and logging. Forests such as the Tongass National Forest in Alaska are threatened and I'm looking for Congress to protect them. Voting for the Roadless Rule Amendment is the best opportunity for protection now.

BACKGROUND

The Roadless Area Conservation Rule was adopted on January 12, 2001, protecting the nation's last wild national forests from most road construction and commercial logging. .. The Rule was signed after the most extensive public participation processes on record. A 2-year long public process including more 600 public meetings and a record breaking 1.6 million public comments were received, over 95% calling for the complete protection of all roadless areas.

In response to inaction by the Bush Administration, Congress introduced the National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Act (HR 4865). The bipartisan bill which would codify the Roadless Area Conservation Rule was introduced in the House of Representatives on June 5, 2002, with more than 170 co-sponsors. This environmentally sound legislation provides a balanced management approach and reflects the values that a Americans hold for these last wild public forests.

On January 29, immediately upon taking office, the Bush Administration put the rule on hold. The administration then refused to defend the rule in court challenges brought by the timber industry. In issuing an injunction to be placed on the rule on, Federal Judge Lodge stated, "Plaintiffs seek a prelimary injunction challenging the promulgation of the rule as violative of, inter alia, NEPA. .The federal defendants take no position on the merits of the case".

On July 10, 2001, just six months after taking office, the Bush Administration began a new process to amend the rule and called for another round of public comments. Nearly three quarters of a million comments were sent to the Forest Service in response to the administrations, 'Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

According to a report by the US Forest Service Content Analysis Team titled, Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Summary of Public Comment released on June 27, 2002, of the nearly three quarters of a million public comments received in response to the Bush Administrations proposal to amend the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, well over 90% supported the complete protection of all roadless areas in accordance with the original rule. Of the comments identified in the report as either supporting or opposing the Bush administrations proposal to amend the rule, 97% called for the implementation of the Rule without amendment, many calling into question the integrity of the forest service and the administration in proposing to modify the rule.