Heritage Forests Campaign News Release

April 22, 2003

NOTE TO BUSH: HOW TO BE GREEN ON EARTH DAY
Poll after poll shows that the public overwhelmingly supports protection for our national parks and forests. Even the GOPís own political consultant, Frank Luntz, has stressed the importance of at least SOUNDING like you care about open space and wild heritage, whatever your actions to the contrary. He even wrote a memo full of helpful hints for fudging your record -- check out www.luntzspeak.com to learn the lingo!

FOREST PROTECTION: ALL DRESSED UP, BUT NOT GOING ANYWHERE
But actions speak louder than words, and it doesnít take a Frank Luntz to tell you that the best way to SOUND like you care about the environment on Earth Day is to actually care about the environment. The single easiest thing the administration can do is simply enforce the most popular forest protection rule in history -- the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. This rule is already written, adopted, and commented on by more than two million Americans. It protects 58.5 million acres of our last wild forests from most logging and road-building and is effectively the law of the land. But President Bush wants to hold it up. Why?

ROADBLOCKING ROADLESS
The Bush administration has worked behind closed doors with their allies in the timber, mining, oil and gas industry to gut the Roadless Area Conservation Rule at every turn. From halting implementation of the rule upon taking office, to failing to defend the rule in court, to pushing for timber sales in roadless areas in the Tongass National Forest, the administrationís actions go against the will of the American public. See ourforests.org/risk/bush_undermine.html for more on what theyíre doing. See www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.asp?ind=A10 for why.

Despite a recent victory in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, where the Court upheld the rule and rejected a timber industry petition for a rehearing, the administration still has not moved to implement the rule and has actually signaled its intent to change it.

EARTH DAY ENVIRONMENTALISM
Part of Earth Day means watching administration officials going to our nationís forests for photo-ops in pristine settings. Itís hard to blame them; these natural areas ARE breathtaking. Thatís why they need to be protected -- not by trotting out LuntzSpeak spin, but by supporting the rule.

Contact: Tony Iallonardo, NET
(202) 887-8855

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.