Public Lands Project Campaign Hotspots

Most Americans are shocked when the learn that our public lands are open to commercial logging and other forms of resource extraction such as mining, oil and gas development and grazing.

Below are some of the Campaign Hotspots that the Native Forest Network is currently working to protect.



Bitterroot National Forest's Burned Area Recovery Plan (pdf)
Following the wildfires of 2000, the U.S. Forest Service proposed to "restore" the Bitterroot National Forest in Montana with a massive logging project that would have logged enough trees from 72 square miles of the forest to fill log trucks lined up for 300 miles! Following a controversial settlement agreement, the Forest Service has pushed ahead with logging, but the real restoration work lags far behind – and $16 million set aside for the restoration work is gone.

Chequemegon-Nicolet National Forest, Wisconsin (pdf)
The CNNF is located on 1.5 million acres in northern Wisconsin and is currently the most heavily logged National Forest in the country. From 1992 to 2001 an astounding 300 square miles of the forest were cut down, with most of the trees going to feed the pulp and paper industry. Currently, the Forest Service is proposing five major logging projects on the forest based on an outdated forest plan that would log 42,000 acres in the most remote sections of the forest.

George Washington-Jefferson National Forest, Virginia (pdf)
The GWJ National Forest is home to more unprotected roadless wildlands than any National Forest in the eastern U.S., more endangered species than any National Forest in the country and contains 219,000 acres of old-growth. This remarkable forest is threatened by a number of logging projects and natural gas exploration in a critical roadless area.

Klamath-Siskiyou and Southern Cascades, Oregon and northern California (pdf)
The public forests of the Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion and the Southern Cascades contain the largest concentration of roadless wildlands and pristine watersheds on the Pacific coast. The region is also home to stunning ancient, old-growth forests, which the Bush Administration are eagerly trying to cut down. In fact, in the Pacific Northwest over 180 logging projects currently target ancient forests on public lands.

Rocky Mountain Front, Montana
Stretching 100 miles, biologists place the Rocky Mountain Front in the top 1% of wildlife habitat in North America. The Front is critical habitat for many species, including part of the largest grizzly bear population in the lower 48 and the only place in the U.S. where grizzly bears still roam the Great Plains. The Rocky Mountain Front is threated by oil and gas development and unrestricted off-road ATV use.

Tongass National Forest, Alaska (pdf)
At 17 million acres, the Tongass National Forest is the largest National Forest in the U.S. and is among the world's largest tracts of old-growth temperate rainforests. Christmas came early to the loggin industry when on December 23, 2003 the Bush Administration removed roadless protections from nine million acres of the forest. Currently the Forest Service has plans for 50 ancient forest logging projects that would clearcut over 300,000 acres.

For more information about these campaign hotspots, please contact the Native Forest Network at nfn@wildrockies.org or (406) 542-7343.