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Protecting America's National Forests is a reference guide to the Roadless Rule, which protects our last wild forests from logging, drilling, and mining.

AVAILABLE RESOURCES " Key Documents " Fact Sheets " Testimony & Official Statements " Reports

Resources

Key Documents

• Letters to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack from state conservation groups in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, and the Southeast (all PDF) - December 15, 2010
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• Letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack from sporting groups (PDF) - December 15, 2010
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• Letter from More Than 500 Scientists Urging the President to Fully Support the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule (PDF) - April 14, 2010
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• Letter from More Than 100 Conservation and Recreation Groups Expressing Concern with Development in Colorado's Roadless Areas (PDF) - April 6, 2010
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• Legal Status of The Roadless Area Conservation Rule (PDF) - The Wilderness Society - March 23, 2010
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• Colorado Scientists' Comments on July 28, 2009 version of proposed Colorado Roadless Rule (PDF) - October 3, 2009
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• Governor Christine Gregoire, Washington in support of Roadless Area Conservation Rule (PDF) - April 30, 2009
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• Letters in support of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule from the Governors of New Mexico, Oregon and Virginia (PDF) - April 21, 2009
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• Governor Bill Richardson, New Mexico in support of Roadless Area Conservation Rule (PDF) - April 17, 2009
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• Letter from 127 scientists in support of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule (PDF) - April 14, 2009
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• Leading environmental organizations pen letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in support of the Roadless Conservation Rule (PDF) - April 14, 2009
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• Colorado environmental organizations pen letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in support of the Roadless Conservation Rule (PDF) - April 14, 2009
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• Former Governor John Kitzhaber, Oregon in support of Roadless Area Conservation Rule (PDF) - March 24, 2009
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• House letter in support of Roadless Area Conservation Rule (PDF) - March 18, 2009
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• List of House Signers (PDF) - March 18, 2009
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• Governor Timothy Kaine, Virginia in support of Roadless Area Conservation Rule (PDF) - March 17, 2009
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• Senate letter in support of Roadless Area Conservation Rule (PDF) - March 12, 2009
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• Governor Theodore Kulongoski, Oregon in support of Roadless Area Conservation Rule (PDF) - January 12, 2009
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• Joint comments from the nation's leading conservation organizations regarding the conservation of roadless areas in the State of Idaho and across the country (PDF) - March 31, 2008
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• The Governors of Maine, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Mexico press President Bush to uphold the Roadless Rule, while North Carolina, Wyoming, Tennessee and Virginia's Governors comment on the Administration's proposals for a state petitioning process for inventoried roadless area management.
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• Scientists to Bush: Don't Ignore Science Protect Pristine Roadless Forests (PDF) - October 22, 2004
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• Economists warn that gutting Roadless Rules will be extremely costly to taxpayers (PDF) - October 22, 2004
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• Economists tell President Bush and Governors that greater effort to conserve the environment will strengthen the economy of western states (PDF) - December 3, 2003
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• The following specialist reports are the foundation the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) concerning the Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
  Published by the U.S. Forest Service
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• The Roadless Area Conservation Rule Main Web Page
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• The Roadless Area Conservation Rule
  (As published in the Federal Register, January 12, 2001)
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• Roadless Area Conservation In The News
  Online at http://roadless.fs.fed.us/
  Published by the U.S. Forest Service
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• Sen. Maria Cantwell's letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft expressing her disappointment with the Department of Justice's decision not to support the Roadless Rule in court

Fact Sheets

• General Fact Sheet: National Roadless Areas in Colorado
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• Temporary Roads and the Roadless Rule
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• December 2007 Idaho Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
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• Roadless Area Conservation Policy Chronology 2001-2006 (updated as of April 06, 2007)
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• The Roadless Area Conservation Rule Timeline
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• The Roadless Area Litigation Timeline
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• Roadless Area Acreage by State
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• Public Comments in Support of the Roadless Rule: By State
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• The Roadless Rule: Balanced Protection For Our Future
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• The Roadless Rule: A Narrative History
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• 4 Ways President Bush's "Healthy Forests" Initiative Rolls Back Environmental Protections
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• Bush "Healthy Forests" Plan Would Increase Logging and Eliminate Environmental Protections
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• Following The Money: Are Our Forests For Sale?
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• Recreation and the Future of Our National Forests
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• Wild Forest Protection Conservation Policy Will Not Harm Energy Production
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• Fire and the Roadless Area Conservation Rule: Roadless Protections Do Not Impede Wildfire Management
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• Facts & Demagoguery: The Experts Speak Out On Western Fires
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• Little Impact On Logging By New Policy To Protect Last Remaining Wild Forests
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• Mark Rey -- Former Timber Industry Lobbyist Now In Charge of "Natural Resources and the Environment" at the USDA
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• The Economics of Roadless Areas
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• Death By A Thousand Cuts: Timeline of Bush Administration National Forest Rollbacks
  By The Native Forest Network
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• Forest Health: Myths The Bush Administration Would Have You Believe
  By The American Lands Alliance
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• Bush Administrationís Healthy Forest Initiative to Increase Logging on Our Public Lands
  By The American Lands Alliance
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• Alaskaís Tongass Rainforest: #1 Location for Logging in Roadless Areas
  By The Alaska Rainforest Campaign
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• Bush Administration Continues to Target Tongass: 4 Timber Sales Near Completion
  By The Alaska Rainforest Campaign
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• Roadless Area Protection Makes Sense for Taxpayers
  By Taxpayers for Common Sense
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• Lost in the Forest: Road Construction and Maintenance Backlog
  By Taxpayers for Common Sense
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• The U.S. Forest Service: A Federal Agency Run Amok
  By Taxpayers for Common Sense
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Testimony & Official Statements

• Testimony of Dale N. Bosworth Chief, USDA Forest Service to Committee on Appropriations, Interior and Related Agencies Subcommittee, Forest Service Fiscal Year 2005 Budget
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• United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Forest Service Budget 2005 Hearing
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• Committee on Appropriations, Interior and Related Agencies Subcommittee, Forest Service Budget 2005 Hearing
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• Committee on Resources, Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, Forest Service Budget 2005 Hearing
  March 3, 2004
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• Excerpt of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Hearing on the Nomination of John Ashcroft for Attorney General of the United States
  January 17, 2001
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• Transcript of Ann Veneman, Secretary USDA, Announcing Her Decision to Uphold the Roadless Rule

Reports

• Outdoor Recreation Participation and Spending Study: A State-by-State Perspective
  Outdoor Industry Foundation
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• Leasing Colorado's Legacy: New Roadless Plan Opens Backcountry to Drilling
  Pew Environment Group, August 2008
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• Analysis of the Proposed Rule: Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation; Applicability to the National Forests in Idaho
  By James R. Furnish, Consulting Forester and former Deputy Chief, USDA Forest Service
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• A Decade of National Forest Roadless Area Conservation: Background Paper
  By The Wilderness Society
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• Broken Ground: How the Bush Administration Has Broken its Pledge for Interim Protection of America's Last Wild Forests
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• Analysis of Public Comments on the Bush Administration's Proposal to Exempt Alaska from the Roadless Area Conservation Rule
  September 2003
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• Eastern Roadless Areas Under Threat: How the U.S. Forest Service Minimizes Roadless Areas with Biased Procedures. (Read the press release).
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• New Report Documents Destructive Logging and Energy Development by Bush Administration
  By American Lands Alliance
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• 'National Trails Day' Maps Show U.S.ís Best Trails at Risk
  Maps released by the Heritage Forests Campaign document the great trails that would be threatened by regulatory changes; among them the Appalachian Trail, the Lewis and Clark Trail, the Pony Express Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, the California Trail and many others.
  View the Specific maps for national forests in Washington, Oregon, New Hampshire and Colorado here
  By The Heritage Forests Campaign
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• Looming Changes Threaten Millions of Acres of Roadless National Forests
  HFC's local reports profile the potential loss of threatened roadless areas in regional national forests should the rule be reversed. Areas highlighted include Idaho & Montana, New Hampshire, North Woods, Oregon and the Southern Appalachians. Read the reports or the accompanying press release.
  By The Heritage Forests Campaign
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• Why the $10 Billion Forest Service Road Maintenance Backlog Is Bad for Taxpayers and National News Release
  By Taxpayers for Common Sense
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• Taxpayer Losses and Missed Opportunities: How Tongass Rainforest Logging Costs Taxpayers Millions
  By The Southeast Alaska Conservation Council
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• Protecting America's National Forests: Saving The Last Wild 30%
  By The Heritage Forests Campaign
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• The Public vs. Powerful Corporate Special Interests: A Summary of Public Comment on the Bush Administrationís Plan to Change the Roadless Area Conservation Rule
  By The Heritage Forests Campaign
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• Imperiled Western Trout and the Importance of Roadless Areas
  By The Western Native Trout Campaign
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• From The Ashes: Reducing The Harmful Effects and Rising Costs of Western Wildfires
  By Taxpayers for Common Sense
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• In the Red: National Forest Logging Continues to Lose Millions
  By Taxpayers for Common Sense
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• Our Nation's Wild Forests at Risk
  By The Wilderness Society
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• Protect Today, Play Tomorrow: The Importance of Roadless Area Conservation to Backcountry Recreation
  By Business for Wilderness
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• Roadless Areas: The Missing Link in Conservation
  By The Wilderness Society
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• Lost in the Forest: How the Forest Service's Misdirection, Mismanagement, and Mischief Squanders Your Tax Dollars
  By Taxpayers for Common Sense
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• The National Forest System Roadless Areas Initiative
  By The Congressional Research Service
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• Getting Burned By Logging: Forest Service Abuse of the National Fire Plan in the Sierra Nevada
  By The John Muir Project
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• Forest Service Lack of Financial and Performance Accountability Has Resulted in Inefficiency and Waste
  United States General Accounting Office
  March 1998
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• Rewriting the Rules
  By the Majority Staff of the Committee on Governmental Affairs,
  United States Senate
  October 2002
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• Stimulating Smarter Regulation: 2002 Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on State, Local, and Tribal Entities
  By The Office of Management and Budget
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• Distribution of Timber Sales Receipts Fiscal Years 1992-94
  United States General Accounting Office
  September, 1995
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• Distribution of Timber Sales Receipts Fiscal Years 1995-97
  United States General Accounting Office
  November, 1998

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