Dear Senator/Representative ______ ,

We urge you to call upon the Bush administration to keep its promise to uphold one of the most significant forest conservation policies in decades, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Issued in January 2001 after the most extensive public rulemaking in history, this landmark rule protects 58.5 million acres of wild national forest land from logging, mining, and drilling. This rule protects the Cherokee National Forest in East Tennessee.

The Roadless Area Conservation Rule is the result of significant scientific study, over 600 public meetings, and an unprecedented number of comments from the American people. In Tennessee alone, the rule has received more than 8,000 favorable comments, and minimal opposition. The rule also has bipartisan support from Congress, scientific and faith-based communities, and editorial boards from around the nation. Rarely has the nation been so unified in support of a landmark conservation measure.

Among the benefits of this popular conservation policy are clean drinking water for millions of Americans; protection of critical habitat for more than 1,600 imperiled wildlife species; and unlimited recreation for hikers, hunters, and anglers. This fair and balanced plan also allows road construction to fight fire, protect forest health, and allow access to state and private lands.

Last May, under pressure from Congress and the public, the Bush administration pledged to uphold the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, promising only minor changes. In recent months, however, special interests working with their allies in the Bush administration have moved to significantly weaken the national forest protections provided by the rule through obscure bureaucratic maneuvers. As a result, more than a dozen of America's most magnificent national forests are now excluded from protection including Alaska's Tongass National Forest.

More than 2.2 million Americans have already told the Forest Service that they support the Roadless Area Conservation Rule to protect our last wild national forests. But the Bush administration is apparently listening to special interests and not to the American people. It is time to for the Bush administration to keep its word, listen to the public, and protect our national forests. Because once they're gone, they're gone forever.

Sincerely,