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Washington DC--Congressman David Wu issued the following statement on the three year anniversary of Secretary of Agriculture Veneman's promise to up hold the Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
"The Roadless Area Conservation Rule is a responsible common sense conservation policy. It preserves access to public land for snowmobiling, biking, hunting, fishing, camping and hiking. It simply prohibits new road construction in the most pristine areas of our national forests.
"Citizens of my home state of Oregon submitted more comments per-capita on the Roadless Rule than any other state in the nation. Ninety-two percent these comments supported the complete protection of all roadless areas.
"Three year's ago today; Agriculture Secretary Veneman stated that her agency would uphold this important policy. What I would like to know is, if the Bush Administration is working so hard to uphold the Roadless Rule why then are they refusing to defend the Rule in court? Furthermore, why are they undermining this common sense policy by exempting the entire Tongass National Forest from the policy?
"The fact of the matter is, this administration says one thing and does another.
Our National Forests are our shared American heritage. They serve as watersheds, habitats, and places for recreation and contemplation. They also provide a link to our collective past when much of nation was a wild and uncultivated place.
"We must continue to be ever diligent in our defense of the Roadless Rule. We simply cannot sit idly by and let this administration defy the will of the people and destroy the last pristine areas in our National Forests."
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