The wild lands and wildlife of our country have never
faced a bigger threat than they do under Resident Bush. The Roadless Rule
of the Clinton administration was meant to protect our national forests
and the wildlife that live there, but the current regime has continually
degraded that rule. The US Interior Department's environmental impact
statement on oil development in western Alaska included the statement "The
term 'roadless' does not mean an absence of roads. Rather, it indicates an
attempt to minimize the construction of permanent roads." Thus, in typical
Bush administration doublespeak, the Roadless Rule becomes the Less Roads
suggestion.
In July, the National Forest Service put up another
roadblock to the Roadless Area Conservation Rule by requiring governors to
petition for protection for national forests. The Forest Service said to
the state governments in effect, "Do you really want to protect the
national forest public lands in your state, do you want the mining,
logging and oil industries to know how you stand against them? It's out of
our hands now. It's up to you, just fill out the following forms in
triplicate." I hope they use recycled paper, if they bother.
Please send a letter (save paper, send an email) to Forest
Service Chief Dale Bosworth, your state governor, and your representatives
in Congress urging that the Forest Service lives up to its mission of
protecting our wilderness areas. Ask that the original purpose of the
Roadless Rule be maintained.
Write or send an email to Forest Service Chief Dale
Bosworth
Dale Bosworth, Chief USDA, Forest Service
PO Box 96090
Washington, DC 20090
email:
[email protected]
For more information, please visit these websites....
http://www.sierraclub.org/forests/
and
http://www.fguardians.org/
and
http://www.nativeforest.org/action_alerts/archive/wildlands_1_13_04.htm
and
http://whistler.sierraclub.org/action/tamain?alid=341
It's up to us to speak for the wildlife, if we want to
continue to hear their voices. What would the world be like without wild
sound? Without birdsong? The grunts of the bison? The howl of the wolves?
The evening melody of the crickets?
With only the rustle of a Bush?
Remember, the last time a group of people listened to a
Bush they were lost in the wilderness for forty years. Let's just pray
there will be a wilderness for us to be lost in.
Go on to Man Cooks Dog,
Waives Court Appearance
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