Dear Friends,
The US Forest Service is considering the fate of our un-protected Roadless Wildlife Habitat, in a document entitled, the Roadless Area Conservation, National Forest System Lands in Idaho; Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
The preferred alternative is the product of a back-door agreement with the state of Idaho. This plan will release over two-thirds of the remaining un-protected wild lands to damaging development. It will categorize wild land into four new “Management Themes”; (1) Wild Land Recreation, (2) Primitive, (3) Back Country /Restoration, and (4) General Forest, Rangeland, and Grassland. This preferred alternative opens-the-door to varying degrees of specific developments within each category.
The category, General Forest, Rangeland, and Grassland, will turn some areas in southern Idaho from pristine Wildlife habitat, to open-pit and mountain-top removal phosphate mines. Other pristine areas, for example in northern Idaho, will become denuded, roaded, and severely damaged.
All other categories, under this plan, will lose protections that Roadless Wildlife Habitat Areas presently have.
The US Forest Service is presently accepting comments on the Roadless Area Conservation Draft EIS. They will announce this decision around April, 2008.
Make a comment. Tell them this plan is unacceptable, that these areas must remain pristine Roadless Wildlife Habitat.
Send comments here: IDcomments@fsroadless.org
Please consider attending the hearings closest to your home and plan to stand up and testify. Bring your friends. The hearing in Orofino will be conducted on the 28th of January at the County Court House. The hearing at Lewiston will be conducted on the 29th of January, at a location to be disclosed at some future date. The hearing in Grangeville will be conducted on the 30th of January at the Super 8 Motel. All meetings will start at 7 pm. You will need to be there early to register to speak.
Please, put this week on your calendars.
Attend the Wednesday, January 23rd , 5 pm, presentation/rally at the 1912 Building in Moscow.
Write Letters to the Editor.
Talk to your friends.
We will not be through with the Roadless Wildlife Habitat debate, until the day that you stop commenting. Let's keep our voices strong for roadless country and real wildlife habitat!
Happy New Year!
Steve Paulson
