For Immediate Release: November 15, 2004

For More Information: Lauren Fischer (314) 454-5884

Conservationists Release Report on Value of Missouri’s Wild Forests and Announce Unprecedented Opposition to Bush Plan to Repeal Forest Protections

ST. LOUIS—On the final day of the public comment period on the Bush administration’s proposal to repeal the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, MoPIRG, National Environmental Trust, and Heritage Forests Campaign released a report documenting the clean drinking water, recreation, and wildlife habitat benefits of roadless areas in America’s National Forests.

The Roadless Rule was enacted in January 2001 to protect 58.5 million acres of national forests across the country. The report, “Our Natural Legacy: The Value of America’s Roadless National Forests,” finds that:

- 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 Eastern Forest Service Region, which includes Missouri, drinking water is worth $144.7 million annually.

- 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 million Missouri residents took part in hunting, fishing, and wildlife-watching in 2001, contributing 1.8 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 Missouri, nine at-risk species are found in national forests and could be harmed by destruction of roadless areas.

“Missouri residents have made crystal clear that they value national forests, and they want national protections to preserve roadless areas for the clean drinking water, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities they provide,” said Lauren Fischer “The right decision for the Bush Administration seems clear. Roadless areas are one of the nation’s greatest natural assets; their ecological and economic value is too great to sacrifice,” she concluded.

The coalition also announced that a record-breaking 1.5 million Americans nationally and over 32,000 in Missouri have spoken out against the Bush administration’s July 16th proposal to repeal the Roadless Rule and replace it with a meaningless process that allows governors to seek protections – or logging, mining, and drilling – for roadless areas in their states. This brings the total number of comments in support of the 2001 Roadless Rule to more than four million nationally over the last several years. In addition, during the comment period, more than 140 members of Congress, 130 scientists, and 110 economists spoke out in opposition to the proposal to repeal the rule.

The Roadless Rule was finalized in January 2001 after years of scientific study, 600 local public hearings and meetings and a record number of public comments. Enacted to protect 58.5 million acres of national forests across the country, including 25,000 acres here in Missouri, it allows temporary road construction in order to fight wildfires, ensure public safety, and protect forest health. Despite indisputable public support for the rule, the Bush administration suspended it almost immediately after taking office, failed to defend it in court, exempted Alaska’s Tongass Rainforest, and in July 2004 proposed an outright repeal.

“We urge the Bush administration to heed the overwhelming public mandate to protect our last wild forests,” said Mark Kustelski “They should start by keeping the Roadless Rule intact in the Lower 48 and in Alaska’s Chugach and reinstating the rule in Alaska’s Tongass Rainforest.”

The Heritage Forests Campaign is an alliance of conservationists, wildlife advocates, clergy, educators, scientists, and other Americans who are working together to uphold protection of our National Forests.

MoPIRG is a nonpartisan public advocacy and environmental interest group.