Many people don't realize that close to 60 million acres of pristine
national forest that should be permanently protected remain at risk.
In January 2001, after receiving a record 1.6 million public comments,
the Forest Service finalized the Roadless Area Conservation Rule to
protect 58.5 million acres of wild forest from logging, road building,
mining and oil drilling, including 25,000 acres in our own Allegheny
National Forest.
Although Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman pledged to uphold the rule
last May, the Bush administration has failed to defend the plan in
court and has instead moved to undermine the protection it offers. It
has used obscure bureaucratic maneuvers to let logging, mining and
drilling companies run rampant in some of our last, most pristine
national forests.
The administration has eliminated protections for more than a dozen
national forests, including the Tongass National Forest in Alaska,
where the Forest Service has already begun approving timber sales in
areas that are supposed to be protected by the roadless rule.
As a result, Congress is now acting to give these areas the
protection the Bush Administration promised but failed to deliver. On
June 5, 176 members of Congress introduced the National Forest Roadless
Area Conservation Act to give the original policy the full force of
law.
Rep. William Coyne just last week signed on as a co-sponsor of this
important legislation, but Rep. Mike Doyle had not yet joined his
colleagues. He still has the opportunity to stand up for forest
protection by co-sponsoring this bill in the next few weeks.
Doing so will not only mean protecting the last remaining 4 percent of
old-growth forest alive in this country, but will also ensure a
permanent future for areas prized by millions for their beauty,
recreational value and cleansing power.
Patrick Durand
Brookville
