Oil giants ConocoPhillips and Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil have begun to drive dangerous “megaloads” across the narrow mountain roads of the northern Rockies. The goal? Deliver 207 loads of machinery, each as wide as the road and three-stories tall, to the Alberta Tar Sands for production of one of the world's dirtiest fossil fuels. But as they move, the megaloads have been blocking all traffic (including emergency vehicles), cutting power to local towns, damaging local scenery, and more. This petition asks regional leaders to halt the project and prevent the creation of a permanent industrial corridor through our most beautiful National Forests.

This is all happening on Highway 12 in Idaho and Montana, a National Scenic Byway through gorgeous territory once explored by Lewis and Clark - and yet Exxon is demanding that the Forest Service trim back every tree along the route with no regard for local tourism or the environment.

Residents along the route have joined National Forest supervisors, local Indian tribes, and national environmental groups in opposition to Big Oil’s northwestern greed. Most 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 northwest, and against fossil fuels. Ask state and local officials to stop Big Oil and block the creation of a permanent industrial corridor in the northern Rockies.

Photo credit: A megaload similar to the ones Exxon and ConocoPhillips want to truck through the Northwest - note the log truck on the right for size comparison. Courtesy www.FightingGoliath.org.