Markey Statement on SCOTUS Decision to Reject Roadless Rule Appeal

WASHINGTON (October 1, 2012) – Following today’s decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to reject an appeal of the Roadless Rule that protects 50 million acres of America’s forests, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the Ranking Democratic Member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, released the following statement: 

“It's been a long road since this decade-old conservation proposal was put forward, but today's announcement by the Court means that millions of acres of our forests will be protected. The timber industry’s legal obstructionist tactics have failed to undermine the public's strong support for protecting 50 million acres of pristine forests.  We must now turn our attention to the threat against wilderness areas posed by the current attacks on our public lands by Mitt Romney and the GOP, who seek to turn over these lands to the states in order to facilitate oil and gas drilling.”