FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ninety Outdoor Businesses Call for Renewed Roadless Protections

On roadless rule anniversary, recreation industry pushes to reverse harmful Bush policies, protect customers’ values

Outdoor recreation industry comes together to stand up for roadless area protections on anniversary of 2001 Roadless Rule.

Portland based KEEN Inc. represents one of 90 businesses encouraging President Obama to reinstate the Roadless Rule.

OREGON WILD--KEEN INC.

The most popular conservation measure ever undertaken in the United States is receiving renewed attention from the outdoor business community on the eight anniversary of its implementation. Ninety outdoor recreation businesses, including industry giants KEEN, Patagonia, Sierra Designs, and the North Face, sent a letter today to President-elect Barack Obama urging him to reinstate the Roadless Area Conservation Rule of 2001. The rule protects 58.5 million acres of pristine National Forest land from harmful road-building, logging, and development.

“Protecting pristine recreation areas from development is important to our values as a company that cares about the world around us.  We're proud to advocate for these places," said James Curleigh, President of KEEN Inc. “For us, federal roadless protection is good for the land, good for the outdoor industry, and good for outdoor enthusiasts.”

In otherwise uncertain economic times, the outdoor industry has been a bright spot. The Outdoor Industry Association estimates that recreation based businesses contribute well over $700 billion to the nation’s economy, support nearly 6.5 million jobs, and generate $88 billion in annual state and national tax revenue. These businesses depend upon the ability of customers to hike, camp, hunt, and fish on our public lands.

The 2001 Roadless Rule protected 58.5 million acres of our nation’s unspoiled roadless wildlands while allowing commonsense exceptions for public health and safety, and access to private property. The rule was passed after the submission of an unprecedented 1.6 million public comments – 95% of which were in favor of the rule.

During the last eight years, the Bush administration has relentlessly worked to weaken the rule, often bypassing environmental laws to remove roadless protections. As the result of dueling court rulings, roadless backcountry areas in only 10 of the 50 states are currently protected (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, in addition to New Mexico.) Roadless areas in other stats are once again on the chopping block.

“With all the back and forth over roadless protections during the last eight years it is really exciting to see the business community step forward like this,” said Rob Klavins, with the conservation group Oregon Wild. “It really says a lot about what we value as a nation.”

America’s roadless wildlands are not only important for recreation enthusiasts. They contain pristine streams that provide our communities with safe, clean sources of drinking water. Roadless areas provide valuable habitat to fish and wildlife. And in a time of increasing concern over climate change, roadless wildlands contain old-growth forests that serve as the earth’s lungs, capturing and storing pollution that causes global warming.

See the full business letter here.

Oregon businesses on the letter:

The Conservation Alliance (Bend)

KEEN Inc. (Portland)

Peak Sports (Corvallis)

Ruff Wear (Bend)

eNRG Kayaking (Hood River)

MoonFoto (Bend)

Metolius Climbing (Bend)

Tactics Board Shops (Eugene)

FootZone (Bend)

Snow Peak (Clackamas)

Quick Feat International (Bend)

Clackacraft (Clackamas)

###