Governor Gregoire Moves to Protect Roadless Areas — Your Help is Needed Now


Wednesday, September 6, 2006


On August 30, 2006 Governor Christine Gregoire announced that Washington State will file a petition (due in November) to protect national forest roadless areas at the same level as the Clinton Rule of 2001 that was overturned by the Bush administration, which proposed its own Rule in 2005.

That Bush Rule rule allowed governors of each state that contained national forests to petition the administration for protection of some or all of the inventoried roadless areas identified in the Clinton Rule.

Gregoire first demonstrated our state's interest in protecting all of these rare areas when she joined in a lawsuit against the Bush Rule with the governors of California, Oregon and New Mexico. That lawsuit is pending.

Now, citizens have one more opportunity to support full roadless area protection in a process the governor's office has set up for public comments.

First, there will be two public workshops in Washington State - one in Olympia and one in Spokane. The Olympia meeting is set for:

Monday, September 18, 2006
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Capitol Campus
Legislative Building, Columbia Room

Second, there are opportunities to make written comments for the record. Comments must be submitted by October 13, 2006. You can check our website for a link to the information (www.olympicforest.org) and submit comments online or by printing out the form and mailing it to:

Roadless Areas Comments
Governor's Executive Policy Office
PO Box 43113
Olympia, WA 98504-3113

On our website you'll see a link to the information Governor Gregoire posted, as well as some background information from OFCO. Also check our photo gallery for a view of some very special, unprotected roadless areas on our own Olympic National Forest.