Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC) * Oregon Council of Trout Unlimited

For Immediate Release: October 12, 2005

For More Information Contact:
Steve Pedery, ONRC, (503) 283-6343 ext. 212
Patrick Kruse, Ruff Wear, (541) 388-1821
Tom Wolf, Trout Unlimited, (503) 640-2123

Conservationists Launch New Challenge to Bush Administration and Roadless Forest Logging

Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC) and the Oregon Council of Trout Unlimited join 75 other conservation organizations to reverse Bush forest policy

Portland, OR - Today the Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC) joined with the Oregon Council of Trout Unlimited and 75 other conservation groups from across the nation to launch a new challenge to the Bush administration’s plan to open pristine roadless areas in America’s National Forests to logging and other development.

“Instead of protecting our remaining pristine roadless forests as a legacy for future generations, the Bush administration is handing them over to special interests in the logging, mining, and oil and gas industries,” said Jay Ward, Conservation Director of the Oregon Natural Resources Council. “We are joining in this citizen’s initiative to overturn this reckless plan and protect these wild places.”

The challenge was filed under the Administrative Procedures Act, which allows citizens to request that the government issue, amend or revoke federal rules. Organizers of the drive say the APA’s formal petition process will force the US Forest Service to respond to public outcry for restoring forest protections, and will likely be the largest such petition in US history. The Act permits Americans to submit requests, or petitions, to restore roadless forest protections directly to the federal government.

Last year, over 1.5 million Americans, including 55,000 Oregonians, sent comments to the Forest Service opposing the Bush administration’s plan to open roadless wild areas to development. Oregon-based outdoor businesses, including Nike, Columbia Sportswear, Ruff Wear, Adidas, and Metolius Climbing also opposed the repeal of roadless forest protections.

“Oregon’s roadless wild forests provide our families and our customers, with some of the best places to get outside and hike, fish, and camp. That’s one of the reasons I moved my company to Oregon.,” said Patrick Kruse, President of Ruff Wear, a Bend-based specialty outdoor products company. “Oregonians want these forests, and the rivers and streams that flow through them, protected for our children, not turned into clear cuts and parking lots.”

The 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, one of the most popular land conservation measures in a generation, safeguarded over 58 million acres of pristine lands in America’s national forests, including two million acres in Oregon. The 2001 Roadless Rule recognized the value of these lands for clean drinking water, habitat for fish and wildlife, and the outstanding recreational opportunities they provide for American families. It protected America’s remaining pristine roadless forests from logging, mining, and other destructive activities while still allowing for temporary roads to be constructed in order to fight fires, ensure public safety and provide for thinning to protect forest health.

“Oregon’s pristine roadless forests are home to some of our cleanest rivers and streams, and the best spawning habitat for salmon and trout,” observed Tom Wolf, Chair of the Oregon Council of Trout Unlimited. “The same rivers that support wild chinook or bull trout also provide our communities with clean, safe drinking water. We need to protect these lands, not throw them open to reckless development.”

The Bush administration repealed these protections in May of 2005 and substituted a complex process where individual Governors must petition the Forest Service to restore protections for roadless wild forests in their states. Oregon’s Governor Ted Kulongoski has joined with the Attorney Generals of California and New Mexico to challenge the Bush rules in court. A second legal challenge was filed last week on behalf of 20 conservation groups including ONRC.

“The Bush administration and the logging industry claimed their repeal of the Roadless Rule would reduce controversy, but it has done exactly the opposite,” concluded Ward. “By joining in this challenge, Oregonians can send them a clear message-keep the bulldozers and chainsaws out of Oregon’s last pristine forests.”

Organizations in all fifty states will mobilize their members, civic leaders and the general public via the Internet and traditional grassroots methods to submit petitions. Click here to view the Oregon petition http://www.net.org/petition.php?partner=ONRC online.