Native Organizers Alliance - BREAKING: Senate Committee guts the Roadless Rule

 

Patricia, We just got word that the Senate Energy Natural Resources Committee has voted in favor of Mike Lee’s Wildfire Prevention Act. That means the next stop is for a full Senate vote and we need to act right away if we want to stop it. We have no problem with preventing wildfires, obviously. The problem is this bill guts the “Roadless Rule” and bypasses Tribal consultation to do it – the exact opposite of what’s needed to protect our forests. It’s simple: More roads means more wildfires. Although proponents of rolling back the Roadless Rule have suggested that this is somehow being done in response to wildfire, the reality is that this “solution” will only lead to more of them. New research from The Wilderness Society, now in peer review, shows that from 1992-2024, wildfires were four times as likely to start in areas with roads than in roadless forest tracts. Another study showed that more than 90 percent of all wildfires nationwide occurred within half a mile of a road. Here’s the deal, Congress passed the Roadless Rule in 2001. Since then it has protected 60 million acres of ancient forests and Native homelands from road construction, mining, and logging. It has also helped to protect drinking water for tens of millions of people and decreased risks to wildlife, including salmon and other non-human kin -- who are central to many Tribes’ cultures and survival. The Wildfire Prevention Act would nullify the Roadless Rule and, along with Tribes and allies across Turtle Island, we’re pressuring every Senator to step up today and vote NO. We must protect the Roadless Rule’s crucial environmental protections. Will you sign and send an urgent message to your Senators right now? TAKE ACTION One important way to stave off climate change is by defending our forests and roadless areas, which are at the center of protecting Mother Earth from the impact of greenhouse gases. Trees store carbon and prevent it from being released into the atmosphere. Cutting down these trees will speed up climate chaos, disrupt crucial wildlife habitats, interrupt Native cultural and environmental practices, and more. In addition to the environmental impacts, Senator Lee is trying to do all of this without Tribal consultation -- violating Tribal sovereign rights to co-steward public lands in accordance with the sustainable practices of our ancestors. With your support, we’ve sent nearly 100,000 messages to members of Congress, asking them to co-sponsor and pass the Roadless Area Conservation Act already. But today, we need to organize to specifically stop Senator Lee’s amendment. Please rush a message to your Senators by clicking here now. Hawwih (thank you) for taking action and demanding the federal government honor its obligations to sovereign Tribal Nations and Mother Earth. Judith LeBlanc (Caddo) Executive Director BUILD NATIVE POLITICAL POWER

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