Cantwell Statement on Roadless Rule Decision

Cantwell Statement on Roadless Rule Decision

Wednesday, September 20,2006

WASHINGTON, DC - Wednesday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) issued the following statement after Judge La Porte of the Northern District of California threw out the Bush Roadless Rule and reinstated the Clinton Roadless Rule:

"Keeping reckless road building out of our nation's pristine federal forests is critical to striking the responsible balance needed to preserve America's remaining wild public lands. These valuable lands provide clean drinking water, critical fish and wildlife habitat, and irreplaceable outdoor recreation opportunities and should be protected. Today, in a victory for America's outdoor recreation enthusiasts, the courts rejected the Bush administration's ideological push to open up every last corner of America to resource extraction. This issue should have been settled years ago, but this administration continued to push its short-sighted, misguided policy. I'll keep fighting to keep our hunting, fishing, and hiking areas from being turned into a patchwork of road-building, logging, and mining."

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http://cantwell.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=263437&&days=30&