Hello Friends. This week we are taking a chance to voice support for NREPA.
You can sign the petition here.
What is NREPA?
The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA, for short) is a visionary piece of legislation that would designate over 22 million acres of roadless country in the Northern Rockies as Wilderness, and enshrine them the protections of the 1964 Wilderness Act. In the Clearwater, over 1.5 million acres of roadless country, currently at risk of logging, road-building, and mineral leasing, would secure for wildlife, water flows, recreation, and the other benefits Wilderness provides.
Why support NREPA?
As many of you know, scientists and advocates crafted NREPA in the 1990s to prevent the loss of roadless areas to development. Since then, over 30,000 acres of roadless country has been logged in Idaho and Montana, showing the weaknesses in current roadless regulations. American wilderness advocate (and songwriting legend) Carole King recently wrote of the bill, “NREPA would protect more public land in the lower 48 than any other currently proposed legislation.” Representative Carolyn Maloney introduced NREPA this year, and it’s high time we get it passed.
Show your support for this remarkable legislation by adding your name to our petition.
If you would like to add your personal comments on NREPA, head over to Alliance for the Wild Rockies’ comment form to be submitted to congress.
Bigger is better
When it comes to conserving public lands, focusing on quid pro quo legislation – complicated with exceptions and industry handouts – simply won’t cut it. Bold, systemic change to land management isn’t an impossible utopian dream – it’s a necessity for the survival of tens of thousands of species, as well as a stalwart effort toward keeping the world livable for human beings. You can read how NREPA addresses both the biodiversity crisis and the climate crisis in the text of the petition itself.
Also, happy new year! We hope you enjoyed (survived?) the holiday season.
Thanks again, and have a great week.
Paul Busch
Membership and Development Director
Friends of the Clearwater
paul@friendsoftheclearwater.org