Idaho's Roadless Backcountry is at Risk
As the final months of the Bush administration come to close, the assault on our public lands continues. Recently the administration initiated a national rulemaking that will decide the fate of 9.3 million acres of roadless areas in Idaho's national forests - part of the greater Yellowstone ecosystem.
These areas are currently protected under the 2001 Roadless Rule, but the proposed rulemakings would remove these protections and could open the door to mining, logging, oil and gas drilling as well as other development.
The Bush administration's proposed action in Idaho comes on the heels of plans that would put two other crown jewels of our national forests system at risk: Alaska's Tongass National Forest and Colorado's Rocky Mountains.
The U.S. Forest Service has opened a comment period in which you can express your opposition to this proposed rule and the Bush administration's attempts to gut the Roadless Rule. Please sign the petition to the Forest Service today, and include your own comments about why they should protect all of Idaho's roadless areas and roadless forests throughout the country.
Dear Chief Kimbell and Mr. Gilbert:
Spanning 58.5 million acres in 38 states, America's national forest roadless areas contain some of our nation's last pristine forests. From the expansive wilds of the American Southwest and Northern Rockies to the colorful deciduous woods of New England and the Appalachians, these last tracts of unspoiled backcountry provide habitat for wildlife, headwaters to rivers, and unparalleled recreational opportunities for millions of Americans.
The state of Idaho contains over 9.3 million acres of National Forest roadless areas the most of any state outside of Alaska. Idaho's roadless backcountry makes up the core of the last intact forest ecosystem in the lower 48 states the last place where all of the native plants, fish and wildlife from the smallest plant to the largest predator can still be found.
In 2001, the U.S. Forest Service issued the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects Idaho's and all of the country's national forest roadless areas from most logging and new roads being built for mining, coal, gas, logging and other development. The rule was the result of almost three years of deliberation that included 600 public hearings and more than 1.5 million written comments submitted with the overwhelming majority supporting the complete protection of all remaining roadless areas.
The American public has continued to support this policy, and has repeatedly opposed proposals to reverse or weaken it.
I write to ask that you let this policy remain in place, in Idaho, as well as in Alaska, Colorado, and throughout the nation.
Please, keep the Roadless Rule, and our nation's roadless areas, intact.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your city and state]
