Senator Hilary Rodham-Clinton (D-NY) and Congressman Luis Fortuno (R-PR) have teamed together to introduce legislation to extend wilderness protection to over 10,000 acres in Puerto Rico's Caribbean National Forest. Although the smallest of the 155 national forests, it boasts the greatest number of native tree species at over 240 and is home to trees over 1,000 years old.

Find out more about this effort to create El Toro, the nation's first tropical forest wilderness area:
http://www.wilderness.org/NewsRoom/Release/20050203.cfm

Inside Story

New Mexico's Otero Mesa, Wyoming's Great Divide and northeastern Utah's Vernal region are home to breathtaking scenery, countless species of wildlife and rare plants as well as prehistoric ruins and Native American art. But soon, these lands may be home to oil rigs and off road vehicles thanks to new Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to open 8 million acres of land of public lands to oil and natural gas development.

"Now that the election's over, the Interior Department is rolling out plans that largely ignore public input and reflect a tremendously unbalanced approach to how our public lands will be used," said The Wilderness Society's Nada Culver.

Click here to read the full story:
http://www.wilderness.org/NewsRoom/Release/20050203b.cfm

Take Action

Hundreds joined Sen. Joseph Lieberman and Rep. Ed Markey outside the Capitol last week as the two announced legislation to forever protect the Arctic Refuge coastal plain from oil drilling. Also on hand were Norma Kassi, with the Gwich'in Steering Committee and Bill Meadows, president of The Wilderness Society. Since introduction of the bill, more than 100 House members and more than 20 senators have signed on.

Please take action on this important legislation, by asking your congressional members to co-sponsor S. 261 and H.R. 567, or thanking them for doing so.

You can take action now at:
http://ga1.org/campaign/ArcticWild/wd8ks5x4a758675