FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oregon Wild Press Statement on Roadless Rule Victory

Conservationists savor victory in last legal challenge to one of the most popular, common sense conservation efforts in history

Conservationists savor victory in last legal challenge to one of the most popular, common sense conservation efforts in history

Old growth trees like this were once part of a proposed roadless logging scheme called DBug. A court decision today ended a decade of conflict brought by the Bush administration & the timber industry that was used to justify the sale (Doug Heiken photo)

Today, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the final legal challenge to the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The Roadless Rule protects nearly 2 million acres of otherwise unprotected pristine roadless backcountry in Oregon and nearly 60 million acres nationwide. It does so without reducing current levels of access and allowing for common senses exceptions for public safety, access, and forest health.

The Roadless Rule came out of the most extensive public process in federal rulemaking history but, despite being wildly popular, was almost immediately attacked by the incoming Bush administration and its allies in the timber industry.

During the exhaustive rulemaking process, on a per-capita basis, Oregonians submitted more public comments than any other state. As they were nationwide, over 90% of those comments were in favor of the Rule's common sense protections. Legal uncertainty had been used to justify roadless logging and development proposals in Oregon and across the country. Today's ruling should settle any legal uncertainty about the status of the Rule.

Below is the statement of Rob Klavins, Wildlands & Wildlife Advocate for Oregon Wild.

We’re thankful to have finally closed the door on a decade of conflict drummed up by the Bush administration and its allies in the timber industry. After years of delay and millions of dollars wasted by development interests, it’s time to move forward. We call on the Obama administration to unambiguously uphold the common sense national protections of the 2001 Rule while Congress gets to work turning it into law.

In the meantime, the Forest Service must abide by the Rule and protect America's remaining pristine roadless areas.

In Oregon we’ve seen Forest Service personnel like Clifford Dils in the Umpqua National Forest use the excuse of legal uncertainty to justify irresponsible logging schemes like the D-Bug logging sale. On the doorstep of Crater Lake National Park, that single project once proposed more roadless logging than had occurred across the entire country during the last decade. With this decision in place, we hope Oregonians who value our state’s big wild places – and the businesses that depend on them – can be assured the Forest Service will protect our remaining roadless wildlands.

10 years ago, Oregonians led the charge to protect our last pristine wildlands. These precious wild areas provide clean drinking water, habitat for abundant wildlife, and economic drivers for a thriving outdoor recreation economy. People don’t buy KEEN shoes or Columbia jackets to go hike the clear-cuts. They are part of what make Oregon such a great place to live, work, and raise a family.

Learn more about the 2001 Roadless Rule, and Oregon's roadless wildlands here.

Check back soon for a link to legal documents.

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