A message from Wilderness Society President Bill Meadows
Whatever else Tuesday's election may have been, it was by no means a referendum on environmental protection. The war in Iraq, terrorism, the economy: all these eclipsed environmental concerns in the national debate.

But where land protection and other environmental issues were at the forefront, they fared very well, indeed:

• Montana voters refused to reverse a six-year-old ban on deadly cyanide leach mining. The vote was 60-40 against, though proponents outspent opponents by at least 5 to 1;
  
• Colorado voters passed a Renewable Energy Amendment that will require major public utilities to get 10 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2015; and
  
• In a preliminary tally, one of our partner groups, the Trust for Public Land, reports that voters across the country considered no fewer than 150 ballot measures to fund land conservation and approved over three-fourths of them.

The Politics of Pillage
The Bush administration has been relentless in trying to undermine decades of progress toward protection of the national parks, national forests, and other lands that all of us inherit simply because we are citizens of this great nation. Political appointees who had spent their careers pushing the interests of the mining, logging, and oil and gas industries were handed the keys to our natural treasures. They ordered up drilling in some of the West's most wondrous places.

These "stewards" went after the rule that prevents logging and road building in unprotected national forest roadless areas. They linked arms with the snowmobile industry to increase the number of snowmobiles in Yellowstone. They watered down mining standards. Now, the administration does not have to worry about facing the voters again.

Too often, Congress has either sat by while the federal agencies have pursued this radical agenda, or has been a willing partner. Fortunately, conservation-minded Republicans and Democrats have led bipartisan efforts in the Senate that prevented President Bush from realizing his goal of turning the biological heart of the Arctic Refuge into an industrial oil complex.

Some Victories, Even in the Worst of Times
Despite the brazen attacks on our natural legacy, we see evidence that, with your help, we can slow down or stop some of them. So far, there has been no commercial logging or road building in the 58.5 million acres of roadless forest land we are defending.

In the Northern Rockies, we recently scored two victories when the Bush administration agreed not to drill for oil and gas-at least not now-along the Rocky Mountain Front and in an undeveloped section of Bridger-Teton National Forest near Yellowstone. We worked closely with conservation groups, sportsmen, ranchers, and others to force the administration to beat a retreat. When necessary, we have turned to the courts, winning 70 percent of the time.

These victories give us hope. But success will require extraordinary teamwork, compelling scientific and economic analysis, persuasive public education, and long hours. And it will require, perhaps more than ever, the generous, enthusiastic willingness that you and other WildAlert subscribers have shown when we've called on you.

Winston Churchill, seeking to rally his country six decades ago, said: "I take up my task with buoyancy and hope. I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men....let us go forward with our united strength."

In that spirit, let us rise to the challenge posed by these next four years.

William H. Meadows
President
The Wilderness Society

Photo: Wilderness Society President Bill Meadows. Photo courtesy Sandy Briggs/SGMA