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Victory for roadless forests! Court moves to protect national forest roadless areas

October 21, 2011 By Christopher Lancette

Hikers in the North Cascades Roadless Area of Washington

Credit: Damon Parrish, REI

More than ten years after President Clinton banned roads and logging on the last roadless areas on our nation’s forests, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has the final say — 49 million acres of America’s national forests will remain wild under the Roadless Rule. Read more

Do Roads Belong Here? New threats to Idaho’s backcountry forests

February 1, 2011 By Christopher Lancette

We prefer to inform you about advances in wild land conservation, but this week that opportunity has been denied for Idaho’s magnificent backcountry forests. At the end of January, a federal district court upheld a dangerous federal rule that eliminates protection for 400,000 acres of Idaho’s wild backcountry and exposes more than 5 million acres in the state to greater threat of development. Region:  Northern Rockies Read more

Protected roadless forests celebrate anniversary, but threats loom

January 11, 2011 By Mike Anderson, J.D.

Rogue-Winema National Forest Brown Mountain Roadless Area. Courtesy USFS.

A decade after it was first adopted by the U.S. Forest Service, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule has proven to be remarkably successful in protecting the 58.5 million acres of national forest roadless areas from road building and logging. Only about 75 miles of road building has occurred in the roadless areas — far less than the Forest Service had predicted a decade ago — and just a miniscule fraction of the unroaded forests has been logged, mostly in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. Read more

Roadless areas are for the birds

March 18, 2010 By Leanne Klyza Linck

Pine Grosbeaks. Photo by Neil Hannan, Courtesy NPS.

A few years ago, The Wilderness Society and the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit to stop logging in an inventoried roadless area in the White Mountain National Forest. The legal action caused quite a stir in New Hampshire conservation circles. A number of organizations even filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the Forest Service plan to log in the Wild River roadless area. I was a bit surprised that “conservation” groups would go out of their way to support logging. Read more

Be Proud! See what you achieved for the Wild in 2009

December 9, 2009 By Laura Bailey

Bristlecone pine protected by the Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Wild Heritage Act. Photo by John Dittli.

In 2009 you helped us begin to tear down the destructive environmental legacy of the Bush administration. Our members and supporters sent more than 1 million letters to decision makers, while our staff worked closely with the incoming administration and Congress. Read more

Pacific Northwest Govs Support Roadless Rule

May 13, 2009 By Andrea Imler

Each year I make a pilgrimage (well, make that multiple pilgrimages) to Washington’s Teanaway country. The Teanaway, so named due to its proximity to the mighty Teanaway River and its tributaries, is known for its abundant recreational opportunities, including horseback riding, fishing and hiking, spectacular vistas of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Stuart and beautiful early summer floral displays and a stunning golden larch bonanza in the fall. Read more

2009: A Year for Wilderness, Wildlife

January 8, 2009 By Laura Bailey

Hiker in Kings Canyon National Park, CA. Courtesy NPS.

After eight years of Bush Administration environmental roll-backs and land hand-outs to industry, the nation finally has a real chance to create better days for wild places. The time for change is here, and with your help we’re leading the charge to make that happen. Since November’s election, our staff and policy experts have been working full-speed ahead with members of the presidential transition team and with members of Congress to prepare them on steps they can quickly take to right many of the environmental wrongs of the past eight years. Read more

Bush’s Final Days: The last-minute environmental roll-backs you should know about

December 19, 2008 By Drew Bush

Grand Canyon National Park at risk to Uranium mining, Arizona.

In November, we told you about sweeping environmental roll-backs the Bush administration is rushing through in its final months in office. Since then, and just as expected, the news has not been good. In the short weeks since the presidential election, the administration has finalized numerous land management plans, regulations and policy changes that could severely damage our wild lands for decades to come. Read more