Soon after the Bush administration took office, it promised to uphold the Clinton administration's Roadless Area Conservation Rule, enacted in 2001 to protect some 58.5 million acres of America's last unspoiled National Forests from logging, mining and drilling.
But this summer President Bush flip-flopped. The administration's U.S. Forest Service announced it is repealing the rule, which was designed to protect vital sources of clean water and wildlife habitat. Since the year 2000, the timber industry alone has given $25 million to the Bush administration and its Congressional allies.
The Bush reversal has set off a torrent of protests by the conservation community, which is calling on Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth to extend the public comment period beyond the current expiration date set for next Tuesday, September 14th. The environmental community is calling for a 45-day extension.
Conservationists feel especially betrayed not only by the Bush flip-flop, but also because the rule was enacted by the Clinton administration only after three full years of open public dialogue and extensive scientific analysis. Over 600 public hearings were held nationwide. A record 1.5 million comments were submitted, with over 95% supporting the Roadless Rule. Yet the Bush administration is now portraying the rule as a last-minute process.
According to a recent study by the Campaign to Protect America's Lands (CPAL), the Bush repeal not only endangers the nation's few remaining unspoiled forests, but also threatens 23 nearby national parks and monuments in 16 states. [1] Among them are Yosemite, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain and Olympic National Parks. The 23 sites are visited by some 40 million Americans every year.
As CPAL Director Peter Altman told BushGreenwatch, "The parks will suffer from the collateral damage of timber clearcuts, destroyed wildlife habitats and migratory corridors, streams destroyed by sediment, and the noise and stench of industrial development."
Coalition of Concerned National Park Service Retirees spokesperson Bill Wade called on Interior Secretary Gale Norton to oppose the action by the Forest Service, which is part of the Department of Agriculture. "No Interior Secretary worth his or her salt would stand by and allow this indirect attack on our national parks to go unchallenged," said Wade.
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TAKE ACTION
Send your comments before the public comment period ends on September 14.
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SOURCES:
[1] CPAL report, Jul. 28, 2004.
