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Our national parks are threatened by repeal of the roadless rule
Two dozen national parks and monuments could see industrial development on their borders if the Bush administration succeeds in reversing protections for wild areas in our national forests. According to the nonprofit national-park watchdog group Campaign to Protect America’s Lands, one fifth of the roadless areas now threatened with logging drilling, and mining either border or are near national parks, including Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and the Blue Ridge Parkway – parks visited by 43 million Americans each year. In addition, 163 miles of the Appalachian Trail pass directly through now-endangered roadless areas. Instead of unspoiled vistas and clear streams, future hikers and park visitors could experience panoramas of clear-cuts, waterways choked with sediment, and sharply reduced wildlife populations. In July, the Forest Service opened the door to mayhem when it announced a major revision to the Clinton-era projections for roadless areas, opening these wild forests regions to development. “This latest move adds another chapter to the encyclopedia of insults and abuses the Bush administration has heaped on our parks,” says Campaign director Peter Alterman. Interior secretary Gal Norton, he says, is duty-bound to protect the national parks, and thus should be opposing the new Bush rules.
Environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, have mounted a new effort to flood the Forest Service with public comments in support of protection. (Two million comments, overwhelmingly in favor of preservation, were filed in past rounds,) While the initial process included 600 public hearings, however, the Bush revision offered not a single one.
From Sierra Magazine Nov/Dec issue
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