OSPIRG's Maureen Kirk

This summer, thousands of Oregonians are planning scenic vacations and outdoor adventures right here in Oregon’s national forests and other public lands.

It’s no wonder. Oregon’s wild forests are home to some of the most striking beauty on earth.

This is where we find some of North America’s last stands of old-growth trees. The pristine streams that flow through these last wild forests provide clean drinking water for thousands of Oregonians and critical habitat for steelhead and salmon.

Oregonians and visitors find endless opportunities for recreation and solitude along the trails and rivers winding through these forest lands, spurring vital tourism and recreation businesses.

Oregonians overwhelmingly want to protect these wild places for future generations. Unfortunately, too few of our forests have been permanently protected. Only 3 percent of Oregon is protected as official wilderness. And nearly 2 million acres of Oregon’s remaining wild forests lost protection last summer, when the Bush administration repealed the Roadless Area Conservation Rule.

That’s the landmark policy the administration repealed, despite the record-breaking 4 million comments Americans sent the Forest Service supporting the protections.

I’m proud that OSPIRG is one of the groups leading the effort to restore protections to our last wild forests. My staff have made it a top priority to work with Oregon’s governor, members of the media, and the public at large to make the case for these critical protections.

And we applauded in March, when Gov. Ted Kulongoski indicated he was in the process of developing a petition to the U.S. Forest Service to reinstate protections for all the 1.965 million acres of Oregon’s national forests that had been covered by the Roadless Rule.

Now, we are redoubling our efforts, to demonstrate support and build momentum behind this Oregon OSPIRGeffort. To find out more about this campaign, and get involved, please visit www. ospirg.org, I hope you get a chance to get out and enjoy some of Oregon’s wild forests this summer. Meanwhile, as you know, much of the hiking that goes on here at OSPIRG is done by idealistic college students, who spend the summer trekking to your door to ask you to join OSPIRG or renew your membership.

I hope you’ll take a moment on your front porch to let them give you an update, and share your thoughts with them.

Happy trails.

Maureen Kirk
Executive Director