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Help Protect Our Nation's Watersheds
Aging Forest Service roads are increasingly in danger of erosion, landslides, and other environmental damage that results from lack of proper funding. These deteriorating roads threaten the drinking water of millions of Americans and the spawning habitat of salmon and steelhead. The House of Representatives approved the $65 million Legacy Roads Remediation Initiative to address this problem, but now it is awaiting action in the Senate. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), along with Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), has circulated a letter to her colleagues urging Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to support the Legacy Roads Initiative. Senator Feinstein is chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior and Environment, which gives her a powerful voice on this issue. Urge your Senators to sign on to Senator Cantwell's letter by sending the letter below.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Support the Legacy Roads Remediation Initiative
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
I am contacting you today to request your active support for the Legacy Roads Remediation Initiative in the FY 2008 Interior Appropriations bill. The Roads Initiative would provide $65 million to address the growing problems associated with deteriorating Forest Service roads, including habitat loss, declining water quality, and reduced recreational opportunities, including fishing and hunting. This funding is especially important to help defend the National Forests from the harmful effects of major storms and flooding caused by global climate change.
The Forest Service currently manages more than 380,000 miles of roads but does not have sufficient funding to properly maintain these roads. As a result, each year many tons of sediment flow into our nation's streams and rivers, negatively affecting both wildlife habitats and drinking water. The Legacy Roads Initiative would assist the Forest Service in properly managing these roads, maintaining recreational access to our nation's forests while decommissioning unused and unwanted roads.
The Roads Initiative would also provide economic benefits, saving taxpayers up to $1,200 annually per mile of road in reduced maintenance costs. Additionally, a $65 million road removal program would support approximately 940 jobs in forest communities - strengthening local economies.
Please help protect and restore our nation's watersheds and wildlife by signing the letter from Senators Cantwell, Wyden, and Bingaman to Senator Feinstein in support of the $65 million Legacy Roads Remediation Initiative. Without this important initiative, the state of Forest Service roads will continue to decline and threaten vital wildlife habitats as well as the drinking water for millions of Americans.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
October 24, 2007
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National forests supply drinking water to 60 million people and provide 50 percent of our nation's spawning habitat for salmon and steelhead, as well as a tremendous variety of recreational opportunities to American families. However, these tremendously valuable natural resources are increasingly threatened by erosion, landslides, and other environmental damage caused by lack of funding to properly manage the 380,000 miles of roads in the National Forests. Climate change will likely worsen the problem due to increased frequency and intensity of major rain storms and floods.
The Wilderness Society is working with a broad coalition of groups urging Congress to provide funding to reduce the harmful impacts of deteriorating roads in the National Forests. This summer the House of Representatives approved the Legacy Road and Trail Remediation Initiative (LRRI), which would provide $65 million to maintain and remove Forest Service roads that are harming the environment. The LRRI funding is part of the House Interior Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2008, but so far LRRI has not been added to the Senate version.
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), along with Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), has sent a letter to her colleagues asking for their help in encouraging Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to support the Legacy Roads Remediation Initiative. Senator Feinstein is the chairwoman of the Appropriations subcommittee on the Interior and Environment. The Senator's role as Chair of this subcommittee gives her a powerful role in influencing the acceptance of LRRI.
The Legacy Roads Remediation Initiative would address the problem of deteriorating Forest Service roads. The Forest Service currently manages over 380,000 miles of roads, but because of inadequate funding, they cannot properly maintain these roads. As a result, each year hundreds of thousands of tons of sediment flow into our nation's rivers and streams, endangering both wildlife habitats and water supplies.
LRRI would allow continued access to our nation's forests while directing funding to roads in need of maintenance and decommissioning unused and unwanted roads. Additionally, increased funding would assist the Forest Service in addressing critical maintenance work necessary to protect and restore our nation's watersheds.
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