Today Senator Cantwell (D-WA) and Representative Gallego (D-AZ) introduced legislation that if passed this year would keep the 2001 Roadless Rule on the Tongass, and National Forests around the country, by transforming it from an agency regulation into federal law! The Roadless Area Conservation Act would block states from weakening Roadless protections by creating state-specific rules. Sound familiar?   The Forest Service, at the behest of the State of Alaska and United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, is currently in the process of creating an Alaska-specific Roadless Rule. Should the state get its way, many of the protections from the national rule would disappear from the Tongass. Turning Roadless into law would mean states could only strengthen, not weaken, Roadless Rule protections. Stand in solidarity with Senator Cantwell and Representative Gallego, pledge to Protect the Roadless Rule in Alaska.

The recently introduced House Bill 138 (HB 138), sponsored by Representative Kopp, is an act that would gut the rights of Alaskans to protect the exceptional waters on which our ecosystems, ways of life, and economies depend.  This bill is practically identical to SB 51, which remains in the Senate Resources Committee.  The Clean Water Act allows residents of Alaska to protect waters critical to their communities or culture from pollution under a Tier 3 Designation.  HB 138 would require a Tier 3 nomination get passed as a law through the state legislature to exercise this right.  The decision would be political rather than science-based and would make the approval process nearly impossible.  Meanwhile, corporations only have to fill out a 6-page online form, through an administrative process managed by the Department of Environmental Conservation, to get permission to degrade our waters. Call in at 1:00 PM to testify to the House Resources Committee on HB 138 (844)586-9085