Carole King Joins Reps. Maloney and Shays in Support of the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act

NEWS RELEASE

April 20, 2007

Congresswoman Maloney 202 225-7944

Will Boyd or Gary Macfarlane

Friends of the Clearwater 208-882-9755

Michael Garrity, Executive Director, Alliance for the Wild Rockies 406 459-5936

Washington, D.C. -- Music legend Carole King joined Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Christopher Shays (R-CT) today to announce the introduction of the bipartisan Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act. NREPA will protect some of America's most beautiful and ecologically important lands while saving taxpayers money and creating jobs.

The Northern Rockies is the only place in the lower 48 states where native species and wildlife are protected on lands that are virtually unchanged since Lewis and Clark saw them. This is public land belonging to all Americans. NREPA designates the remaining roadless lands in the Northern Rockies as wilderness, the strongest protection the federal government can confer on public lands. NREPA does not affect private existing rights.

"Many of America's most precious natural resources and wildlife are found in the Northern Rockies," said Rep. Maloney. "NREPA has always been ahead of its time by drawing wilderness boundaries according to science, not politics. NREPA would also help mitigate the effects of global warming by protecting the corridors through which vulnerable wildlife can migrate to cooler areas."

Rep. Shays added, "The Northern Rocky Mountains are one of America’s great wilderness preserves--a living treasure, and home to a critical component of the continent’s ecosystem. It is imperative we preserve and protect our environment. We simply will not have a world to live in if we continue our neglectful ways."

"The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act protects public land owned by all Americans and saves taxpayers money. Its time has come," stated Carole King.

"The wild Clearwater country is an integral part of the wild Rockies bioregion," said Will Boyd, of Friends of the Clearwater. "Studies show that the Clearwater and upper St. Joe Basins are the best habitat in the entire Rockies for large carnivores."

Grizzly bears, caribou, elk, bison, wolves, bull trout and salmon still thrive in the Northern Rockies. The "The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act will create high paying jobs by recovering old roads and clearcuts, save taxpayers money and protect the environment," said Alliance for the Wild Rockies.

Wilderness guide/outfitter Howie Wolke of the Paradise Valley notes that "This is our chance to do it right. NREPA represents a rapidly fading opportunity to prevent more endangered species listings, more resource extraction-induced watershed disasters, more soil destruction and noise pollution from all terrain vehicles, and more losses of the irreplacable values that we in the Northern Rockies hold dear. And equally important,
it a chance to avoid all of the expensive band-aid mitigation measures plus the controversy and polarization that are inevitable when we fail to properly protect the habitat to begin with."

NREPA would save taxpayers $245 million over a ten-year period by managing the land as wilderness. Additionally, more than 2,000 jobs would be created in the region through NREPA’s program to restore Northern Rockies habitats to their natural state.

The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act:

Designates as wilderness the remaining roadless lands in the Northern Rockies;

Connects natural, biological corridors, ensuring the continued existence of native plants and animals and mitigating the effects of global warming;

Restores habitat that has been severely damaged from roads that were built, creating more than 2,000 jobs and leading to a more sustainable economic base in the region;

Keeps water available for downstream until it is most needed; and

Eliminates subsidized development in the designated wilderness areas, saving taxpayers $245 million over a 10-year period.

A summary of NREPA may be found here: