We have the chance to make BOTH of these people unemployed next year....Waddayall think?
SAWS Alert today...
SAWS Members,
Unfortunately, once again, WA State US Senator Maria Cantwell and WA State US Representative Jay Inslee have introduced companion bills in Congress November 17, 2011, to end multiple-use recreation, including snowmobile use, on the majority of our so-called Roadless areas across not only WA State, but all across the western United States.
Recall that if President Clinton’s version of the Roadless Act is finally implemented, much of the 58.5 million acres of Inventoried Roadless Areas would become off limits to snowmobile use.
For those unfamiliar with this proposed legislation, the paragraphs below from our SAWS Roadless editorial dated August 2009 should help clarify this issue:
http://news.snowmobilealliance.org/2009/08/the-roadless-saga-continues-where-will-it-all-end/The 2001 Clinton Roadless Rule contains three classifications for recreation; “Primitive, Semi-Primitive Non-Motorized, and Semi-Primitive Motorized”. As you can see, snowmobile use would only be allowed in one of these three designations - Semi-Primitive Motorized. Not a pretty picture for those that value multiple-use recreation on our non-wilderness multiple-use public lands. As a reminder, we currently have 109.5 million acres of designated wilderness - how many more acres of non-wilderness lands do we need closed to multiple-use?
You can view maps of the so-called roadless areas by state at the following link. These maps show Inventoried Roadless Areas, but do not break down which areas would be designated in the above three classifications: Roadless Area Maps
In the Spokesman-Review blog below, it states in the very first sentence “Two Washington lawmakers led a bipartisan group of 131 sponsors to introduce legislation Thursday to assure an administrative rule protecting 58.5 million acres of wild roadless areas on America's public lands”.
Interesting that the lead sentence in the article regarding these two bills uses the word “bipartisan”, which is very misleading.
In reviewing the sponsors and cosponsors of these two bills, S1891 and HB3465, there are 19 democrats, 0 republicans and 1 Independent that support S1891. And there are 111 Democrats, 0 republicans and 0 Independents that support HB3465. Where is the “bipartisan” support? I guess the 1 independent, Joseph Lieberman, in the Senate, must allow them to claim that this is a “bipartisan” bill. Give me a break…
Here are two links to the bills in question:
S1891 - A bill to provide lasting protection for inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest System
HB1891 - To protect inventoried roadless areas in the National Forest System
Please contact your elected officials in the US Congress and let them know your opinion on these two bills.
Write Your Representative
Write Your Senator
Dave Hurwitz
WA SAWS Rep – Snowmobile Alliance of Western States
http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2011/nov/18/cantwell-inslee-lead-effort-protect-roadless-forests/ 
