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In July 2004,
the Bush administration announced plans to repeal the Roadless Rule
in its entirety and turn the power to protect wilderness areas over
to individual governors. Since then, Environment California has
worked to get Gov. Schwarzenegger to stand up for our state’s forests.
On November
15, Secretary of Resources Mike Chrisman issued a letter to the
Bush administration. The content of the letter was vague, though
the timber industry interpreted it to mean Schwarzenegger was on
their side. Prompted by an e-mail alert from Field Organizer Moira
Chapin, 17 Environment California citizen members wrote letters
to the local papers urging the governor to reconsider his position.
Secretary Chrisman met with Chapin soon afterwards to discuss forest
policy. As this newsletter goes to print, the governor has failed
to clarify whether he supports rollbacks to the Roadless Rule and
if his administration will take action to ensure all 4.4 million
acres will remain protected. Environment California will continue
our work to get the governor to protect these areas, and keep timber,
oil and mining interests from tearing a spider web of roads through
California’s last wild forests.
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