May 5, 2005

Contact: Arthur Stamoulis, 215-567-4004 ext. 222

Pennsylvanians Object to End of Forest Protections
Governor, Conservationists Criticize Bush Administration Repeal of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule for National Forests

Philadelphia, PA - Pennsylvania conservationists and the Governor today announced their opposition to the Bush administration's decision to strip protections for National Forest roadless areas. A U.S. Forest Service policy announced today repeals the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which prohibited most road-building and resource extraction on 58.5 million acres of pristine national forestland across the country, including 25,000 acres in Pennsylvania's Allegheny National Forest.

"The roadless rule was in place to ensure that future generations would have the same opportunity to use and enjoy national forests as past generations have," said Arthur Stamoulis, Field Organizer for the Heritage Forests Campaign, a coalition of conservationists and outdoor enthusiasts. "These unwise changes put some of the nation's most pristine forestland at risk, potentially harming the legacy we leave to our children and grandchildren."

Governor Edward G. Rendell, who urged President Bush to uphold the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, said, "The roadless rule represents a balanced policy protecting 58.5 million acres of the nation's last wild forests from activities that could change the character of the land. It was finalized after years of scientific study, 600 public hearings, and a record 1.6 comments in support of the rule."

Under the new policy, state governors are now required to petition the U.S. Forest Service with recommendations in order for roadless areas to be considered for protection. These petitions are nonbinding, and the Forest Service is free to accept, reject or modify them. During a public comment period held last fall, the American people submitted more than 1.75 million comments urging the Administration to abandon its plan and uphold the original roadless rule as promised four years ago this week; this is on top of the 1.6 million comments in support of the rule during its initial development. The total number of comments by Pennsylvanians over the years in support of protecting roadless areas amount to 112,179.

"The American people continue to overwhelmingly support a single national policy protecting all of our last wild forests," said David Masur, Executive Director of PennEnvironment. "This new rule shows the Bush administration's willingness to break promises, ignore public input, and put America's natural heritage at risk for the short term profit of its industry supporters."

Conservationists charge the timing of today's action is suspect considering oral arguments were heard this week in a Federal appeals court where efforts to defend the original roadless rule against legal attacks continue. The new roadless policy undermines this legal defense. Conservationists contend the motivation for striking the roadless rule down is to allow more logging, mining, and drilling access on National Forests.

"Weakening protections for America's national forests is not wise and is certainly not conservative," said Sandy Moser, President of the Pennsylvania Chapter of REP America (Republicans for Environmental Protection). "Roadless areas in Allegheny National Forest provide critical wildlife habitat and are an important source of clean drinking water in the state. The Forest Service's changes to the roadless rule seem incredibly short-sighted."

"This rule change is bad for anglers and hunters who care deeply about protecting fish and wildlife habitats," said Padraic Farrell, an active local member of Trout Unlimited. "Roadless areas protect trout and salmon populations which are growing more scarce and have already lost other protections."

The Roadless Rule was finalized in January 2001. Over the years of development of this rule, the Forest Service received over 2.5 million comments in favor of the rule. The rule protected 58.5 million acres nationwide while allowing temporary road construction in order to fight wildfires, ensure public safety, and protect forest health.

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