What's New
Protecting roadless areas
On May 24, Rep. Inslee (Wash.) and Rep. Ramstad (Minn.) led a bipartisan group of 141 co-sponsors in introducing the Roadless Area Conservation Act. Simultaneously, Sens. Cantwell (Wash.) and Warner (Va.) and 16 other senators have done the same in the Senate. The Roadless Area Conservation Act speaks to the overwhelming support from Americans to protect our last wild forests, by taking 58.5 million acres of those lands off the chopping block once and for all.
Take Action. We've been working with Governor Schwarzenegger to permanently protect our roadless forests. But these places are so invaluable, it's time to make it official nationwide. Congress should approve legislation that makes roadless forests permanently protected. Click here
What's at stake
Our national forests protect clean water, preserve undisturbed wildlife habitat, and provide backcountry recreational opportunities for millions of Americans. Unfortunately, only a fraction of these forests remains undisturbed by extractive industries: 16,000 miles of roads already traverse their acreage.
In 2001, our staff and their allies won a remarkable victory with the enactment of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which placed 56 million acres of pristine forest land off-limits to road-building, mining, and virtually all logging.
Unfortunately, the Bush administration stripped away this vital protection
in an effort to give away these pristine forests to the timber industry and
other powerful special interests.
Fortunately, a recent federal court decision by Judge Elizabeth LaPorte
blocked the Bush administration's efforts and reinstated the protections established
by the 2001 Roadless Rule. The decision was a huge victory in the fight
to preserve America’s natural heritage. click here to read the bill and see cosponsors
