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Don't Let the Bush Administration Open the Door to the Timber Industry
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
On December 26, 2007, the U.S. Forest Service announced its intent to begin a national rulemaking that could weaken regulations protecting more than 4.4 million acres of Colorado's undeveloped national forest roadless areas as well as 9.3 million acres of roadless areas in Idaho's national forests.
These areas currently enjoy protection under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, but through this process they would be removed and the door could be opened to mining, logging, road construction, oil and gas development as well as other special interests.
The U.S. Forest Service is accepting comments on this proposal — the time to act is now! Please, sign the letter below to let the Forest Service know that you want all of Colorado's and Idaho's roadless areas protected. Ask them not to weaken the current protections provided by the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
With your help, we can keep these areas pristine. We encourage you to include your own personal comments — comment emails are much more effective when you take the time to add your own thoughts.
Here's a sample letter you can send to the Forest Service.....
One-third of Colorado's National Forests are roadless backcountry. These lands are the heart of the wild areas left in the Rockies and provide vital habitats for fish and wildlife and watersheds that supply clean drinking water. They are valuable for hunters, hikers, anglers and everyone who wants to keep Colorado special. These pristine areas represent our national heritage and it is our duty to protect them so that future generations may enjoy them as well.
Idaho contains over 9.3 million acres of National Forest roadless areas — the most of any state outside of Alaska. Idaho's roadless backcountry makes up the core of the last intact forest ecosystem in the lower 48 states — the last place where all of the native plants, fish and wildlife — from the smallest plant to the largest predator — can still be found.
As these pristine wild lands become scarcer on our national landscape, we need to think ahead to guard those quiet, special places where we escape the noise and crowds of everyday life. These areas belong to all Americans and managing them conscientiously is of great importance to me.
I write also to ask that you fully consider the impacts of logging, road construction, mining and other industrial development in roadless areas. Such activities will have irreversible impacts on the clean drinking water they supply, the vital habitat they provide for fish and wildlife, and the countless recreational opportunities that exist on these unspoiled wild areas in Idaho. It is important that these backcountry areas in our national forests are protected.
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RECLAIM THE NORTH POLE WITH NATIVE FLAGS
While the installations at the North Pole are about having us think globally, "Native Flags" is a participatory eco-art project that engages individuals across the globe to act locally.To participate in the project, please visit www.nativeflags.org
At a time when melting polar sea ice is causing so many to focus on which political power will place its flag over the Arctic, controlling the Northwest Passage shipping lanes and the petroleum resources beneath the sea ice, Miami artist Xavier Cortada has developed a project that engages people across the world below to plant a green flag and native tree to help address global climate change. Reforestation helps prevent the polar regions from melting.
Cortada will plant a green flag the North Pole when he arrives there on June 30, 2008. On that same day folks from around the world will be asked to also plant a green flag and native tree in their community.
Miami artist Xavier Cortada created Native Flags as an urban reforestation project to help restore native habitats for plants and animals across South Florida. Launched last year at the Miami Science Museum, Native Flags now calls on individuals globally to join the effort.The conspicuous green flag serves as a catalyst for conversations with neighbors and a call to action to help rebuild our native tree canopy. Community leaders can model the behavior by planting a native tree and green flag at their science centers and city halls.
To learn about this please visit the artist's website at http://www.xaviercortada.com.
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