No Drilling In Our Wild Forests

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

Summary

Enacted in January 2001, the Roadless Rule protects the last third of America's national forests while allowing new road construction in order to fight fires, ensure public safety, and allow brush clearing to protect forest health. The Roadless Rule ensures that forests will continue to provide clean drinking water, habitat for wildlife, and endless opportunities for recreation and solitude.

On July 12th the Bush administration announced its proposal to repeal the Roadless rule and replace it with a process that allows governors to petition for more or less protection for roadless areas in their states. For three and a half years, the Bush administration has been undermining the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects 58.5 million acres of America's wild forests and 4.4 million acres in California.

The Bush administration initially scheduled a 60 day comment period, but they later extended it for an additional sixty days so it ended on November 15, 2004. During the comment period, the administration received more than 1.4 million comments in opposition to its proposal. About a dozen governors spoke out in opposition to the proposal, as did many members of Congress.

On May 5, 2005 President Bush implemented his proposed changes to the Roadless Rule. States now have until November 13, 2006 to petition the federal government for protection of their wild forests.

However, taking advantage of a provision allowing states to make recommendations regarding the managment of their national forests, on July 12, 2006 Gov. Schwarzenegger petitioned the federal government to protect 100 percent of California’s roadless forests.

Finally, on September 20 the 9th district court in California struck down President Bush’s roadless rule because it violated the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and other federal laws.

BACKGROUND

Facts about California's National Forests Facts about Roadless Area Conservation