The good news is that Westerners have not given up the fight to protect the land. Old foes have set aside their differences to join together and save the places they love. In this battle, party lines have been crossed, ranchers have joined backpackers, hunters have joined city councils, men and women on the land for five generations have joined newcomers to save the places that define their lives.
"Stand up and
fight for it"
Stoney
Burk, Lawyer, Choteau, Montana
"Sportsmen...you
better wake up"
Keith
Goddard, Outfitter, Rifle, Colorado
"These are some
of our best places"
Gloria
Flora, Former Forest Service Supervisor, Helena,
Montana
"I'll
do my part to protect it."
Tom
Bell, Author & Historian,
Lander, Wyoming
"The Rockies
are being asked to
... ride to the rescue." Randy Udall, Community Office for Resource Efficiency, Carbondale, Colorado
STAND UP AND FIGHT
Consider
the Stakes: Americans' Western
public lands are on the auction block. It took more
than a century to build them up, with support from
every President from Teddy Roosevelt to Bill Clinton.
Now a single administration is handing over our
last, best places to the oil & gas industry,
running over the backs of the American people
in the process. We have to ask ourselves: Who
is in charge here-- the American people or the
oil & gas industry? Drilling the Rockies Page
Read up: Search
your newspaper website for threats to your favorite
National Forests and BLM lands. Check the web archives
of the national papers covering the issue like High
Country News, LA Times and New
York Times. Drilling the
Rockies Page (news articles)
Spread the word: Host
a home screening of A Land out of Time for
your friends and neighbors. Or a public screening
for your civic group. Host a Screening
Page
Speak up: America's
public lands are part of our deed of citizenship.
If you care about their conservation, stand up and
be counted. Write your local newspaper editor. Attend
a local meeting and tell federal land managers what
you think.
Join up: Link arms
with your neighbors to fight for these lands. Join
and support groups that are defending wild lands
like Save the Roan, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
and Friends of the Red Desert. Hunting & sporting
groups are also in the fight, like Colorado Mule
Deer Association and Trout Unlimited.
Be a patriot: Write
your Congressman and Senator telling them to defend
our public lands. If they don't, elect new ones. Show
our government the true meaning of the words "Of
the People, By the People and For the People."
Thank your U.S. Senator for enacting the Valle Vidal Wilderness Act and thank Congressman Tom Udall for his leadership to save one of New Mexico's last, best places.
Go renewable: As long
as Americans consume an insatiable amount of fossil
fuels, the Rockies will be at risk. Buy energy from
renewable sources like the Holy Cross wind energy
program. Get a home energy audit and use energy
more efficiently.
