Oil giants ConocoPhillips and Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil are requesting permits to turn narrow highways and curvy back roads into a new industrial corridor through the pristine National Forests of Idaho and Montana, along the route once taken by Lewis and Clark. ExxonMobil's goal? Deliver 207 loads of machinery, weighing 250,000 pounds each, to the Alberta Tar Sands for production of one of the world's dirtiest fossil fuels.

The truck loads are so big that they would move only at night, pulling over every 15 minutes to let traffic pass. But locals are up in arms, and have joined National Forest supervisors and environmental groups in opposition. Many fear that the new activity will be permanent, creating lasting environmental damage. As one resident explained: "The black ice on Highway 200 is legendary… If these things tip over and spill into the river, there’s no crane, no machinery, around here that could take it out. You’d have to go all the way to Portland or Seattle to find one. Will it dam the river? What will it do to the banks?"

Stand up for the west, and against fossil fuels. Ask the Idaho Department of Transportation to deny the permits the oil giants need to create this new, permanent industrial corridor.

Photo credit: Highway 12 through Idaho and Montana's Lolo Pass, courtesy Flickr user saborcesar.