National Forests - Environment Arizona

What's New

On Sept. 20, 2006, Judge Elizabeth Laporte of the Northern District of California overturned the Bush administration’s repeal of protections for nearly 60 million acres of pristine national forest lands. Judge Laporte found that the Bush administration’s rule violated the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act and Administrative Procedures Act.

How You Can Help

Send an e-mail to the Arizona Game and Fish Department asking them to protect our wild forest.

Brief Summary

Our national forests protect clean water, preserve undisturbed wildlife habitat, and provide backcountry recreational opportunities for millions of Americans. Unfortunately, only a fraction of these forests remains undisturbed by extractive industries: 16,000 miles of roads already traverse their acreage.

In 2001, Environment Arizona staff and their allies won a remarkable victory with the enactment of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which placed 56 million acres of pristine forest land off-limits to road-building, mining, and virtually all logging.

Unfortunately, the Bush administration stripped away this vital protection in an effort to give away these pristine forests to the timber industry and other powerful special interests.

Fortunately, a recent federal court decision by Judge Elizabeth LaPorte blocked the Bush administration's efforts and reinstated the protections established by the 2001 Roadless Rule. The decision was a huge victory in the fight to preserve America’s natural heritage.