Tell Your Congress To Listen To The People And Protect Our Wilderness

The Roadless Area Conservation Rule protects millions of acres of national forests from destructive activities such as logging and road building. A bipartisan group of members of Congress, apparently growing impatient with the Bush administration's failure to uphold the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, is gathering support to pass the roadless rule into law. Take action now to help the cause.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: PLEASE COSPONSOR National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Act

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I'm writing to ask you, as my representative, to cosponsor the National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Act and join a bipartisan effort to protect America's last wild forests by codifying the Roadless Area Conservation Rule as published in the Federal Register on January 12, 2001.

More than half of our national forests have already been developed or destroyed by logging, mining, road building, and development. Although Agriculture Secretary Veneman promised to uphold the roadless rule, the Forest Service has failed to keep that promise and has instead taken steps to weaken protections for our national forests.

It is time for Congress to take the lead in representing the overwhelming majority f Americans who want protection of our remaining wild forests. I urge you to help implement a balanced approach to managing our national forests by cosponsoring bipartisan legislation to codify the roadless rule of January 12, 2001.

To support this effort, please contact Representative Inslee's office (225-6311) or Representative Boehlert's office (225-3665).

On behalf of future generations, I thank you for working to protect America's last wild places.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
May 17, 2002

Background Information

This may not come as a surprise, but the Bush administration has proposed weakening national forest protections in spite of overwhelming public support and just this week decided to allow development in our last remaining temperate rainforest.

The administration has undermined protections for our last roadless areas, suspended regulations designed to safeguard forest health, moved to open public lands to increased drilling and mining, and nominated an Undersecretary of Agriculture who has worked to develop our national forests. And that's just the half of it -- now they are recommending opening up the Tongass National Forest to development and logging.

All this despite the fact that of the record 1.6 million comments submitted during three separate public comment periods over the last two years more than 95% called for the strongest possible protection for these wilderness areas. The Bush administration is ignoring an exhaustive two-year rule-making period and a broad public mandate to protect what's left of these wilderness areas. Bush may be ignoring the public, but Congress is not. A bipartisan group of members of Congress, impatient with the Bush administration's failure to uphold the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, is gathering support to pass the roadless rule into law. Take a minute now and tell your Rep to sign on.

TAKE ACTION NOW: