rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/letter/stop-mike-lee-from-gutting-the-roadless-rule?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-letter-area-stop-mike-lee-from-gutting-the-roadless-rule' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund https://actionnetwork.org/groups/native-organizers-alliance https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/groups/default_facebook_images/000/022/886/original/NOA_ActionFundBanner2.png?1668645803 The Senate Energy Natural Resources Committee has voted in favor of Mike Lee’s Wildfire Prevention Act. That means the next stop is for a full senate vote and we need to act right away if we want to stop it. We have no problem with preventing wildfires, obviously. The problem is this bill guts the “Roadless Rule” and bypasses Tribal consultation to do it – the exact opposite of what’s needed to protect our forests. It’s simple: More roads means more wildfires. Although proponents of rolling back the Roadless Rule have suggested that this is somehow being done in response to wildfire, the reality is that this “solution” will only lead to more of them. New research from The Wilderness Society, now in peer review, shows that from 1992-2024, wildfires were four times as likely to start in areas with roads than in roadless forest tracts. Another study showed that more than 90 percent of all wildfires nationwide occurred within half a mile of a road. Here’s the deal, Congress passed the Roadless Rule in 2001. Since then it has protected 60 million acres of ancient forests and Native homelands from road construction, mining, and logging. It has also helped to protect drinking water for tens of millions of people and decreased risks to wildfire, including salmon and other non-human kin -- who are central to many Tribes’ cultures and survival. One important way to stave off climate change is to defend our forests, which are central to protecting Mother Earth from the impacts of greenhouse gases. Trees store carbon and prevent it from being released into the atmosphere, so cutting down these ancient forests will speed up climate chaos, disrupt crucial wildlife habitats, interrupt Native cultural practices, and more. The Wildfire Prevention Act that would nullify the Roadless Rule. In addition to the environmental impacts, Senator Lee is trying to do all of this without Tribal consultation -- violating Tribal Nations’ sovereign right to co-steward public lands in accordance with the sustainable practices of our ancestors. Along with Tribes and allies across Turtle Island, we’re pressuring every Senator to step up today and vote NO on the Wildfire Prevention Act or any attempt to weaken the Roadless Rule. Click ‘START WRITING’ to rush a message to your Senators now. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/stop-mike-lee-from-gutting-the-roadless-rule