Protect national forests

Once again the Bush administration is attending to the needs of large corporations at the expense of the American people.

Three years ago the Bush administration promised to uphold the Roadless Area Conservation Rule that was designed to protect the last remaining roadless areas in our national forest system that includes 6,000 acres in Maine’s White Mountain National Forest. The policy has broad support among Americans.

Recently, that promise was abandoned when the administration gutted the roadless rule, leaving 58 million acres of wild forests vulnerable to road-building and commercial logging. Roughly half of our national forests are already open to mining, drilling and logging. The administration’s removal of protections for our last wild forests amounts to a giveaway to the timber industry.

Millions of Americans visit national forests each year for recreational activities. The fact that we have vast tracts of national forests in existence is due to the foresight, and courage of past government leaders who knew that their intervention was necessary to ensure that this natural legacy would be around for future generations.

Over the years the public has submitted 2.5 million comments in favor of the rule as it was originally finalized in 2001. Let your elected officials know that we continue to support protection of our national forests. For more information check out the Heritage Forest Campaign Web site.

Buck O’Herin

Montville