09.06.01

Senator Maria Cantwell’s Remarks About the Roadless Forest Protection Rule

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) made the following statement today at a press conference held on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, urging President Bush to stop his Administration’s attempts to weaken safeguards for national forests provided by the Roadless Forest Protection Rule.

(Senator Cantwell’s statement, as prepared)

Nearly two million Americans have answered the question the Bush Administration was afraid to ask. By an overwhelming majority, they want America’s few remaining roadless national forests protected from further logging, mining and oil exploration.

The Roadless Forest Protection rule is designed to retain open space for future generations. It simply precludes new road construction on 58 million acres of roadless national forests. Two million acres of that land is in Washington state, and it is a vital part of the natural beauty, outdoor recreation, and environmental vitality that makes the Pacific Northwest such an outstanding place to live.

This rule does more than any previous measure to protect America’s roadless national forests from further development by oil, gas and timber companies. It preserves open space for recreational uses, including hunting, fishing, mountain biking and snowmobiling; protects critical watersheds that are sources of clean drinking water for many communities; and ensures that pristine fish and wildlife habitat will remain intact.

The Roadless Forest Protection Rule is a major change because it sets a consistent national policy for dealing with specific issues that have been mishandled in local planning processes, and that have embroiled the Forest Service and past Administrations in conflict. At the same time, the rule contains many exceptions and exclusions that leave many roadless-area management issues in the hands of local decision-makers.

Nevertheless, Administration officials have been trying to undo the Roadless Forest Protection Rule virtually since the day President Bush took office.

First, they said it wasn’t a rule. Then, they admitted it was a rule, but they refused to defend it in court. Finally, they decided to try to change it. All of this, without letting the American people know.

After failing to reverse the rule illegally, the Administration proposed changes to the rule that would significantly weaken its safeguards for America’s most pristine national forests.

The 60-day period for public comment on the Administration’s proposed changes to the Roadless Rule will end next Monday, September 10. During the past two months, the Administration failed to hold a single public meeting to ensure thorough public review of their proposal. That stands in stark contrast to the 180 public meetings held in local communities nationwide during the comparable comment period of the initial rulemaking process - a mere down payment on the total of 600 meetings that were held during the two-year rulemaking process.

In August, about halfway through the public comment period, I sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, pointing out the Administration’s lack of public outreach on this issue and asking her to take steps to ensure public participation in this rulemaking process. I received no reply, and the Department took no action.

During Attorney General John Ashcroft’s confirmation hearing in January, I questioned him about this very rule, and he assured me and other senators that he would vigorously defend any federal rule that has the force of law. He reaffirmed that commitment in several subsequent conversations with me over the next few months, but he has failed at every juncture to live up to that promise.

Yet despite the Administration’s attempt to alter and undermine this federal rule outside the light of public scrutiny, the American people have spoken - and in unprecedented numbers. And what they have said, loudly and clearly, is that they want their forests protected from further logging, mining and oil exploration. They want their forests preserved for recreation and other public uses. They want critical watersheds and wildlife habitat to remain intact.

But despite this loud public outcry, it isn’t yet clear to whom the President will listen: oil companies or the American people. We’re here today to urge him to turn a deaf ear to the siren song of special interests and to follow the will of the American people.

America has only 58 million acres of roadless national forests remaining. It is a precious legacy that requires enlightened stewardship.

On Earth Day, the President assured the nation that he wants to leave "a legacy of clean water, clean air and natural beauty" for future generations. In making that pledge, he asked all Americans to join him "in renewing our commitment to protecting the environment." He also said, "Each of us understands that our prosperity as a nation will mean little if our legacy to future generations is a world of polluted air, toxic waste and vanished forests."

It is time to remind President Bush of his pledge, and to ask him to demonstrate his commitment to protecting those "vanishing forests" by preserving the strong safeguards provided in the Roadless Forest Protection Rule.

Thank you.