Protect Our National Forests!
Recently, the green light was given to logging in Alaska's Tongass Rainforest, and now pristine national forests in other parts of the country could be in jeopardy. One of the key environmental policies that Barack Obama pledged to support as president is the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects nearly 60 million acres of our last remaining undeveloped national forests from most road building, logging and other industrial activities.
But backed by special interests, the State of Colorado is attempting to get out from under this popular policy and open up some of the best backcountry in the Rocky Mountains to new coal mines, methane wells and oil and gas drilling. As a result, Colorado's national forests could be become a magnet for development and pave the way for similar activity on pristine forestlands across the country.
We need your help. Before the comment period ends on October 3, please ask Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who oversees the U.S. Forest Service, to reject Colorado's proposal and carry out President Obama's pledge to uphold the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule as the best policy to protect our last national forests in every state.
Dear Secretary Vilsack,
President Barack Obama has been a strong supporter of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, a landmark environmental policy that preserves 58.5 million acres of inventoried roadless areas in our national forests. But backed by special interests, the State of Colorado is attempting to get out from under this popular policy and open up some of the best backcountry in the Rocky Mountains to new coal mines, methane wells and oil and gas drilling. As a result, Colorado's national forests could be become a magnet for development and pave the way for pristine lands in other places. National forests -- in Colorado and every other state -- belong to all Americans. The forestlands that are roadless are particularly vital, providing clean drinking water for millions of Americans, valuable habitat for fish and wildlife and recreational opportunities for our families.
[Your comment here]
I call on you -- as chief steward of these treasured landscapes -- to reject the Colorado proposal and carry out President Obama's pledge to uphold the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, as the best national policy to protect the nation's last undeveloped forestlands in every state. Because once they're gone, they're gone forever.
