Sierra Club News Release

Contacts: Joanie Clayburgh - (415) 977-5508
                       Sean Cosgrove  -  (202) 675-2382

New Forest Service Data Shows Overwhelming Support for  Protecting Our Last
Wild Forests

 Sierra Club Calls on Bush to Respond to the Public, Not Campaign
Contributors

Washington, DC - Forest Service documents disclosed today show that
supporters of protecting the last wild areas of our National Forests
outnumber opponents by a margin of more than 28 to 1. Sierra Club and other
conservation groups released the statistics, which for the first time
demonstrate the level of public support for protecting the last fragments
of unspoiled National Forest land. Controversy has grown in recent weeks as
courts consider a timber industry challenge and conservationists accuse
John Ashcroft of backing away from his commitment to protect the plan. The
new numbers chronicle the responses that the Forest Service received on
their draft roadless area protection plan.

While drafting the roadless protection policy, the Forest Service created
the largest public involvement process in history. The Forest Service held
more than 600 public hearings around the nation and received more than one
and a half million comments over two public comment periods. The numbers
released today represent the 1.1 million comments that the Forest Service
received on their draft plan. Support for protecting wild forests was as
high as 43,517 to 183 in Pennsylvania and 85,565 to 681 in Florida. Even in
states like Alaska, where the timber industry is politically powerful,
support for protection ran 6,235 to 1,096.

"These numbers confirm that the American people want the last wild areas in
our National Forests protected for future generations," said Melanie
Griffin, Director of Sierra Club's land protection program. "From coast to
coast, citizens calling for wild forest protection vastly outnumbered those
opposed. People want these areas saved for hunting, fishing, camping, and
providing clean water forever-- not for the profit of a few timber and
mining industries."

Despite the overwhelming pubic support for protecting our last wild
forests, President Bush and some members of Congress may attack protections
for our last pristine forests. President Bush took immediate action on
Inauguration Day to delay the date that the new plan was to take effect
from March 13 to May 12.  Now, the administration is reviewing the policy.

"We encourage President Bush and Congress to respond to the families who
hunt, fish, hike, and camp in our National Forests - not to campaign
contributors from the timber and mining industry intent on destroying
public forests for private profit," said Griffin.

The roadless area conservation rule protects nearly 60 million acres of the
most pristine areas in our National Forests. These increasingly scarce
unspoiled places are crucial for providing quality hunting and fishing, for
protecting watersheds that supply drinking water, for offering magnificent
scenery and providing backcountry recreation.
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Sierra Club
85 Second Street, Second Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105-3441
TEL: [415] 977-5500
FAX: [415] 977-5799
www.sierraclub.org

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