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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Contacts: Tom Uniack, Washington Wilderness Coalition, 206-633-1992; Tom O’Keefe, American Whitewater, 425-417-9012;
Tony Meyer, NW Indian Fisheries Commission, 360-528-4325
Washington Stakeholders Support Protecting Roadless Forests
Sen. Cantwell’s and Rep. Inslee’s bill would ensure lasting protection
WASHINGTON D.C. - Washington’s U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-01) and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D) introduced bipartisan legislation to protect 58.5 million acres of roadless national forests, including two million acres in Washington State. The Inslee-Cantwell Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2009 would protect the nation's few remaining non-wilderness roadless forests from commercial development by effectively reinstating the Clinton-era roadless rule.
“We applaud the national leadership demonstrated by Senator Cantwell and Congressman Jay Inslee and their tireless efforts to ensure lasting protection for these pristine roadless forests,” said Tom Uniack, Conservation Director Washington Wilderness Coalition. “Washington is blessed with two million acres of roadless forests including the Kettle Range in eastern Washington and the Dark Divide nestled between Mt St. Helens and Mt Adams.
The roadless rule was the product of an unprecedented amount of public support."
Since 2001, a broad array of local stakeholders and user groups throughout Washington State has strongly supported the rule. Recently, more than 200 local elected officials and 160 local stakeholders just in Washington State alone signed on to a Roadless Resolution urging the Obama Administration to administratively uphold the 2001 Roadless Rule. The Roadless legislation would codify protection.
Roadless areas serve as critical refuges for wildlife. The Forest Service determined that new road construction in roadless areas would likely adversely impact a number of rare or endangered species in Washington state, including Canada lynx, bald eagles, brown pelicans, northern spotted owls, Snake River sockeye salmon, Hood Canal summer chum salmon, Lower Columbia River and Puget Sound chinook salmon, Columbia River and Snake River steelhead, and bull trout.
“Ever since the tribes in western Washington signed treaties with the federal government, we’ve seen our pristine forest and salmon habitat slowly degraded and destroyed,” said Billy Frank Jr., chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. “We can draw the line here and say these last refuges of the world we used to know will not be destroyed. Salmon and the water quality and habitat that sustain them are too important for us not to fight for the roadless rule.”
The wild forests of Washington are also critical to the active way of life for local residence and visitors alike. They offer the occasion for solitude and adventure through a tremendous amount of recreation opportunities, including hiking, backpacking, camping, canoeing or kayaking, bird-watching, horseback riding, fishing and hunting. Recreation is also an important part of Washington’s economy, offing over 115,000 jobs and contributing $2.4 billion to the state economy.
“Paddling along remote rivers and waterways – the original highways used to explore our great nation – offers a truly unique way to experience our national forests and some of the last vestiges of wild and unspoiled lands in America,” said Thomas O’Keefe, Pacific Northwest Stewardship Director, American Whitewater. “Indeed, roadless areas are home to some of the most scenic and challenging whitewater paddling opportunities around.”
To view a joint statement from Senator Maria Cantwell and Congressman Jay Inslee visit:
http://cantwell.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=318514
The values of protecting roadless forests include:
• Sixty million Americans rely on clean drinking water from the national forests. Roadless areas provide the purest source of that water due to their pristine and road-free condition. In the Northwest Forest Service Region, which includes Washington and Oregon, drinking water on national forest land is worth approximately $941 million annually, which is more than any other region or state in the country except California.
• Outdoor recreation has become more and more popular over time as Americans participate in everything from mountain-biking to hunting in roadless areas. Approximately 2.5 million Washington residents took part in hunting, fishing, and wildlife-watching in 2001, contributing $2.4 billion to the state economy.
• A majority of the unspoiled habitat for hundreds of threatened, endangered, and declining species is found in roadless areas. In Washington, 25 at-risk species, including bald eagles, steelhead and bull trout and chinook salmon are found in national forests and could be harmed by destruction of roadless areas.
• The Roadless Rule was the result of a tremendous outpouring of public support with more than 1.6 million comments submitted to the federal government. A vast majority of comments, over 95 percent, favored the strongest protections for keeping our roadless forests road-free. Across the US over 600 public meetings were held by the Forest Service. Dozens of meetings were held in Washington State alone, which resulted in over 80 thousand individual comments in favor of the Roadless Rule.
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