February 22, 2006 Governor Christine Gregoire
Office of the Governor
PO Box 40002
Olympia, WA 98504-0002Dear Governor Gregoire:
Thank you for your leadership and willingness to act forcefully on behalf of Washington’s citizens who want the unprotected public forests and waters of Washington State protected from harmful development. As you recently pointed out, more than 170,000 Washingtonian comments have supported strong protection for our National Forest roadless areas from harmful road construction and logging.
Several of us attended your announcement on February 9 that Washington State will join California, New Mexico and Oregon in a lawsuit challenging the Bush administration’s repeal of the roadless rule. Your words and actions gave us hope and optimism that there are elected officials willing to take strong stands in defense of the environment and the public interest.
We commend you for speaking strongly and passionately in favor of protecting our National Forests. We are proud that our Governor is willing to back up her words with legal action, by holding the federal government accountable for its stewardship responsibilities for the National Forests and the citizens of Washington State. We are glad to have a Governor who is willing to stand up to a federal Administration which fails to see value in protecting our public lands and waters.
We deeply appreciate your efforts and look forward to working with you to insure our pristine National Forest lands are protected now and for future generations.
Sincerely,
Michelle Ackermann Adair Dammann
The Wilderness Society Sierra Club NW Office
Ron Eng Megan Blanck-Weiss
The Mountaineers WashPIRG
Bonnie Phillips Mike Petersen
Olympic Forest Coalition The Lands Council
Mitch Friedman Rev. John Boonstra
Conservation Northwest Washington Association of Churches
Emily Platt
Gifford Pinchot Task Force
Call 206-626-6430 for information regarding this letter