The lands and legacy of Lewis and Clark will be saved only
with urgent action by the American people and government. To succeed, we
must:
 Permanently
protect our undeveloped wildlands -- including designating areas
in the National Forests, National Grasslands and Bureau of Land Management
lands -- as wilderness, national monuments, and national recreation and
conservation areas.
Protect
roadless areas. Pass legislation such as the Northern Rockies
Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA), which would protect over 20 million
acres of roadless land, preserve our free-flowing rivers and provide jobs
restoring these damaged areas.
Implement a
permanent ban on new roadbuilding and logging in all remaining
roadless areas as a first step to ending commercial logging and other
destructive activities on our federal public lands.
Create
wildlife corridors and restore large blocks of habitat. Reduce
the vast network of roads on our federal public lands to restore greater
expanses of habitat and essential migration corridors for wildlife, and to
protect water quality and fisheries.
Maintain
water quality and quantity on public lands and restore water
quality and quantity where waters are no longer capable of supporting
native species.
Keep the
grizzly bear on the Endangered Species List until adequate
habitat has been protected to allow healthy populations of the great bear
to recover.
Protect
grizzly habitat. Because the grizzly is an indicator animal, when
we protect its habitat, we protect habitat for hundreds of other native
plants, animals and fish.
Keep off-road
vehicles out of sensitive areas. The growing use of these loud,
destructive machines in wild country harms habitat for sensitive wildlife
and ruins opportunities for solitude and family recreation.
Ban oil and
gas leasing and development in sensitive areas, particularly in
grizzly bear habitat of the Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide
ecosystems.
Buy private
lands in order to protect critical habitat. Increase federal Land
and Water Conservation Fund monies used to buy and protect this land.
Acquire
conservation and public access easements to protect the Missouri
River from sprawling development and provide for family recreation.
Establish
bison and prairie dog reserves as a part of the national
grasslands to protect our endangered prairie ecosystems. This will also
provide essential habitat for prairie chickens, sage grouse and the
remaining rare herds of wild prairie elk.
Remove the
earthen sections of the four Lower Snake River dams to restore
140 miles of free-flowing river and fabled salmon and steelhead runs
presently listed as endangered species.
Permanently
protect state-owned land. Work at the state level to protect the
forests, rivers and wildlife of these important areas.
Two hundred years ago, the Lewis and Clark expedition fired
America's imagination, and it does again now. The story of Lewis and Clark
and their Corps of Discovery still draws us, says historian Stephen
Ambrose, "as a magnet draws in bits of metal." It is a heroic tale, full
of extraordinary characters, epic in scale and pivotal to America's
evolution as a powerful nation. But there's more to our attraction.
The story of the Lewis and Clark expedition speaks to us
still because we Americans are all explorers at heart. We are all engaged
in our own journeys of discovery of our nation. And part of our journey,
our charge, and our responsibility to our country and our children, is to
protect the wilderness left in trust to us. There can be no better way to
honor the expedition or the explorer in each of us than to protect and
restore wild America, the true legacy of Lewis and Clark.
Find out how you can help -- call the Sierra Club at
1-800-OUR-LAND.
For more information, contact:
Sierra Club Northwest office: 180 Nickerson, Suite 103,
Seattle, WA 98109-1631, (206) 378-0114
Sierra Club Northern Plains office: 23 N. Scott, Room 27,
Sheridan, WY 82801, (307) 672-0425
Sierra Club Cascade Chapter: 8511 15th Ave. NE, Suite 201,
Seattle, WA 98115, (206) 523-2147
Sierra Club Oregon Chapter: 3701 SE Milwaukie, Suite F,
Portland, OR 97202, (503) 238-0442
Sierra Club northern Rockies Chapter: P.O. Box 552, Boise,
ID 83701 (208) 384-1023
Sierra Club Montana Office: P.O. Box 1290, Bozeman, MT
59771, (406) 248-4339
Sierra Club South Dakota Office: 300 N. Dakota Ave. #505,
Sioux Falls, SD 57104, (605) 331-6001
Sierra Club North Dakota Office: P.O. Box 776, Mandan, ND
58554, (701) 663-6071
National Headquarters: 85 Second St., Second Floor, San
Francisco, CA 94105, (415) 977-5500
Washington, D.C. Office: 408 C St. NE, Washington, DC 20002,
(202) 547-1141
| 
