As the new home of OSPIRG's environmental work, Environment Oregon can be contacted regarding this news release.
Portland—Oregon conservationists
announced their strong support for a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives
today that would permanently protect some of the nation’s last pristine
National Forest land, including nearly 2 million acres of roadless wild lands
in Oregon. The Bush Administration’s recent repeal of the 2001 Roadless
Area Conservation Rule has put these wild lands, including parts of the Mount
Hood, Willamette, and Siskiyou National Forests, at risk from logging, mining,
and other forms of development.
“Nearly 150 Members
of Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, want to protect the remaining
roadless wild lands in our National Forests as a legacy for future generations,”
noted Jay Ward of the Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC). “Unfortunately,
the Bush administration seems more concerned with pleasing the logging and mining
industries than with protecting America’s natural heritage.”
Oregon’s Governor Ted
Kulongoski has strongly opposed the Bush administration and their efforts to
open up wild areas in Oregon’s national forests to logging and development.
In his 2005 State of the State address, Kulongoski said:
“The time has come
to stop looking in the rearview mirror – and end the debate about roadless
areas. We thought this debate was over – and it should be. The Administration’s
attempt to repeal the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule must cease.
Protect roadless areas –
do not destroy them!”
The bill – The Roadless
Area Conservation Act of 2005 – would safeguard 58.5 million acres of National
Forest lands from most commercial logging, mining, road-building, and other
destructive activities. The measure was introduced today in the House with 143
original co-sponsors, including Oregon Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Peter
DeFazio, Darlene Hooley, and David Wu.
“Oregonians who value
fish, wildlife, clean drinking water, and the legacy we leave for our children
should thank Representatives Blumenauer, DeFazio, Hooley, and Wu,” said
Laura Etherton of the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG).
“They are standing up for the things that make Oregon a special place.”
The bill would restore the
protections that Oregon’s roadless wild lands enjoyed under the 2001 Roadless
Area Conservation Rule, one of the most sweeping land conservation measures
in a generation. The Bush Administration repealed these protections in May of
2005. The legislation would protect the remaining one-third of undeveloped forests
from most commercial logging and road building. As required by the Roadless
Rule, the bill would allow temporary roads to be constructed in order to fight
fires, ensure public safety and provide for thinning to protect forest health.
The bill would also preserve important recreational activities on these lands,
from hiking and fishing to hunting and camping.
“Protecting Oregon’s
last wild forests isn’t just good for fish and wildlife, it is good for
business,” added Ward of ONRC. “No one vacations in Oregon to hike
through a clear cut or fish in a stream that has been smothered by a mudslide.”
The Bush rule implemented
last May repeals the protections provided by the original 2001 Roadless Rule,
and substitutes it with a complex process that conservationists say will likely
result in even more roadbuilding and logging. Under the Bush Rule, Governors
are allowed to petition the Forest Service with their recommendations for the
treatment of roadless areas.
While skeptical of the Bush administration’s intentions, Oregon conservation
groups are calling on Governor Kulongoski to petition the federal government
to protect all 2 million acres of roadless wild lands in National Forests in
Oregon.
“We need Governor Kulongoski
to keep standing up for Oregon values and protect these last wild forests,”
concluded Etherton with OSPIRG. “These roadless wild lands should be preserved
for our children and grandchildren, not opened up to bulldozers, chainsaws,
and log trucks.”
The original 2001 Roadless
Rule was approved following years of scientific study and more than 600 public
meetings across the country. During its consideration, 2.5 million Americans
wrote the Federal government in support of the rule, making it the most popular
in American history.
