The Road-RIPorter, Winter Solstice 2002
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© 2002 Wildlands CPR
Wildlands Center for Preventing Roads works to protect and restore wildland ecosystems by preventing and removing roads and limiting motorized recreation. We are a national clearinghouse and network, providing citizens with tools and strategies to fight road construction, deter motorized recreation, and promote road removal and revegetation.
P.O. Box 7516Missoula, MT 59807(406) 543-9551 WildlandsCPR@wildlandscpr.org www.wildlandscpr.org
Director
Bethanie Walder
Development Director
Tom Petersen
ORV Policy Coordinator
Jacob Smith
Roads Policy Coordinator
Marnie Criley
Science Coordinator
Adam Switalski
NTWC Grassroots Coordinator
Lisa Philipps
Program Associate
Jennifer Barry
Newsletter
Dan Funsch & Jim Coefield
Interns & Volunteers
Leslie Hannay, Brooke Hughes, Jason Lathrop,Teresa Walsh
Board of Directors
Katie Alvord, Karen Wood DiBari, Dave Havlick,Greg Munther, Cara Nelson, Mary O'Brien,Ted Zukoski
Advisory Committee
Jasper Carlton, Dave Foreman,Keith Hammer, Timothy Hermach,Marion Hourdequin, Kraig Klungness, Lorin Lindner, Andy Mahler, Robert McConnell,Stephanie Mills, Reed Noss,Michael Soulé, Steve Trombulak, Louisa Willcox,Bill Willers, Howie Wolke
Wildlands Wildlands Wildlands Wildlands Wildlands CCCCCenter for PPPPPreventing R R R R Roads
I
read an interesting article on my way home from Washington, DC in late October –about changing demographics and voting in the interior west. The article looked atwhite upper middle-class flight, especially from California, into urban and rural areasin Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and other intermountain states. Initial expecta-tions were that the mountain states would become more politically balanced. Instead,the opposite occurred, as wealthier (and fiscally conservative) people moved in andbrought their voting habits with them. The article didn’t go beyond fiscal issues, but Ican’t help but wonder if those same people might not be more environmentally con-cerned than many of the representatives they elect. And if that’s true, then has theconservation community been missing the boat with their nearly exclusive focus onDemocratic candidates and legislators?Once upon a time, Theodore Roosevelt staked out the environmental high groundfor the Republican Party. But the Republicans have moved so far away from environ-mental protection that those with conservation (or other progressive values) can onlybe distraught over an election that gave Republicans full control of Congress. Whilesome issues will remain partisan, it is time to make the environment a bi-partisan ornon-partisan issue again. The partisan politics of national conservation organizationsappear to reinforce the political divide over the environment; it may be more effectiveto de-politicize conservation issues.It is painfully clear that we can’t count on Democrats, or their leaders, to do this.More importantly, we shouldn’t. But we should enlist the voting public to ensure thatRepublicans and Democrats alike will protect the planet. So how can conservationistsreconnect with the Republican Party and make them more responsive to the averageAmerican, who is described in survey after survey as environmentally concerned? Thefirst place may be Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP), a group trying tobring environmental issues back into the mainstream of their party (visit www.rep.org).Perhaps a second step is to look to those American immigrants into the intermountainwest. Conservation organizing could focus on building relationships with those whoshare our values, no matter what party they belong to. Jeb Bush’s rush to protect theenvironment in Florida makes it clear just what an important issue conservation can beto Republicans, if they think their seats depend on it.Another step we can take is to encourage our own members to become moreinvolved in the politics of place — in their own communities. Groups like the Montana-based Center for Environmental Politics (visit www.cfep.org) are doing just this.So what has this got to do with off-road vehicles and roads? Just about everything.While it is imperative that we protect the Arctic Refuge and Rocky Mountain Front fromenergy development, we can also use roads and off-road vehicles as a public rallyingcry. Many polls show that most Americans don’t like off-road vehicles, the advertise-ments that promote them, or the damage they cause. We need to harness this energy atthe grassroots level, with the transplants to the interior west, or with the people mostaffected by off-road vehicle trespass — private property owners. Concurrently, Wild-lands CPR is working with local communities to promote resource-based jobs in wild-land restoration through road removal. Road removal can provide high wage, highskilled jobs in economically depressed resource dependent communities. If the Republi-cans are all about jobs, then let’s help make those jobs restorative instead of extractive.The conservation community’s current tactics and continuing reliance on Demo-crats to protect the environment aren’t working. It’s time for conservatives to think likeconservationists — again.
By Bethanie Walder
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