Roadless Area Conservation Rule in Danger Because of Bush Administration Repeal

The Bush Administration has recently proposed to repeal the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. This rule currently protects 58.5 million acres of national forests. “This action will effectively give away the remaining thirty percent of the National Forest lands to the timber industry. The day this new policy goes into effect, not a single acre of the forests preserved under the Roadless Area Conservation Rule will be left protected,” reports the Save Our Environment Coalition (www.saveourenvironment.org). If this rule is repealed, which may happen on November 15, 2004, the Bush administration will be able to use these protected lands for corporate special interests, allowing national forests to be logged, drilled for oil, and built upon. This take-back of conserved land may only be the first of another string of environmental setbacks. In his first four years, the Bush Administration repealed the Kyoto treaty, reduced emissions, failed to look for renewable energy sources, and done irreversible damage to the environment through oil drilling, even in protected areas of Alaska. When will this disregard for future generations stop?On July 12, 2004, President Bush repealed the Conservation Rule, even though he promised to uphold it before the election. There is currently a 60-day open public comment period, which gives us the right to protest this selfish move. Already, the administration has received over 2.5 million protests. The Save Our Environment Coalition is working on a petition, composed of one million signatures; to send the administration a powerful message let the administration know that we will no longer tolerate the rapid destruction of natural habitats. Many of these preserved lands house rare species of plants and animals. Please visit the above website this weekend to leave your comments. After Monday, November 15, the administration has the right to make a final decision on weather or not the rule will be appealed.