After putting the brakes on the U.S. Forest Service's Roadless Rule Policy, the Bush Administration is now going back to address the specific concerns of logging, mining and oil and gas industries that oppose roadless area protection. The Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which would ensure lasting protection for the last 30% of remaining wild areas in our national forests, was the result of three years of debate and 1.6 million public comments, 95% of which supported the rule. The Administration has not proposed specific changes, but asks for input on ten questions that primarily revisit concerns of those opposed to roadless area protection. The Forest Service is accepting official comments until September 10 - don't let the Forest Service relax on the public's desire to see these areas protected!

Write today at http://ga0.org/ct/zpasSR41uqJt/Roadless-Defense and let the Forest Service know in your own words that you care about protecting the last remaining roadless areas in our national forests.

Your comments are critical to cleaning up the air in our parks! From now until September 18, your voice is critical to cleaning up our air in national parks and wilderness areas and ensuring the long overdue clean up of "grandfathered" power plants that have been contributing large amounts of pollution due to their exemption from Clean Air Act requirements. The Clean Air in National Parks Rule (or "BART Rule" - Best Available Retrofit Technology) is in its final stages, and clear public support is vital to ensuring the Bush Administration moves forward with this strong and meaningful rule. Reducing sulfur and nitrogen emissions from "grandfathered" plants will improve visibility, public health, and help reduce acid rain, all issues that are directly related to the quality of our outdoor experiences.

Send in your official comments to the EPA at http://ga0.org/ct/zdasSR41uqJv/Clean-Air before September 18 and tell them you want the air in our national parks and wilderness areas to be cleaned up.

Anxiety and uncertainty swept across northern New England last month when 171,000 acres surrounding the headwaters of the Connecticut River and the last large, essentially wild lakes in New Hampshire were put up for sale. Federal, state and local leaders are working with conservation groups to create a viable protection strategy for these lands. Right now, the biggest hurdle to protecting the headwaters of the Connecticut River from development is lack of available funding. This sale illustrates the vulnerability of this region and why the Northern Forest needs to be a national conservation priority. The Forest Legacy Program will likely be one source of funding used to protect this area that serves as a critical link between wildlands in Vermont and Maine.

Now more than ever your voice is needed to protect these wild places. Write a letter now to President George W. Bush at http://ga0.org/ct/z1asSR41uqJf/Northern-Forest urging him to protect the Northern Forest. Also, write a letter in support of the Forest Legacy Program at http://ga0.org/ct/z7asSR41uqJ5/Forest-Legacy . 

SHARPEN YOUR TOOLS FOR CHANGE

Join us at Bear Mountain State Park, NY on September 22 for a daylong workshop to learn how to protect the places you care about. Join members of AMC's Conservation Department and find out how to communicate effectively on conservation issues, develop strategies and tips for recruiting others to your effort, and use the AMC's resources to help you. You will also learn more about Highlands protection and urban conservation. For more information or to register contact Bryan Wentzell at (617) 523-0655, ext. 386, email bwentzell@amcinfo.org, or go to http://ga0.org/ct/SdasSR41uqJb/AMC-Web.

You can use your expertise and familiarity with the White Mountains gained from hiking to help plan its future. The forest service is now revising the forest plan for the White Mountain National Forest, which will determine how the forest is managed for the next 15 years. Much of this process is based on public input, so the forest service needs to hear from you. In the upcoming months you can participate in any number of local planning group meetings, located both in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Upcoming issues that will be discussed include whether off-road vehicles should be allowed on the national forest, and how to protect the last remaining roadless areas in the forest.

We are seeking people who love the White Mountains to get more involved in planning its future. Whether you have hiked in the Whites once or hundreds of times, we have a role for you. To learn more about participating, contact AMC's Conservation Outreach Coordinator, Bryan Wentzell at bwentzell@amcinfo.org or call (617) 523-0655 ext. 386.

The expansion of the Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in central Massachusetts near the state's largest tract of old growth forest was halted on July 18 by a Suffolk Superior Court judge. The expansion plans included a ski trail, snowboard trail, and ski lift that would have been built within 600 feet of the old growth forest, in addition to clear-cutting some nearby mature trees. The development had been proposed on state-owned land. The judge's ruling was a result of a lawsuit filed by Massachusetts residents, the Massachusetts Chapter of the Sierra Club and a local group called Watchdogs for an Environmentally Safe Town who have long opposed the ski area expansion. In his ruling, the judge referenced inconsistencies between the state's goals of preserving the area's ecological diversity and the proposed development.