--- [log in to unmask] wrote:
> Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 16:19:05 -0400
> Subject: NEWS: Judge Delays Implementation of
> Roadless Protection
> To: [log in to unmask]
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Reply-to: [log in to unmask]
>
> ***********************
> *WILD ALERT
> *Friday, May 11, 2001
> ***********************
>
> Dear WildAlert Subscriber,
>
> The Bush administration announced last week that it
> will implement the
> National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Rule, but
> propose substantial
> amendments to this already balanced policy.
> Yesterday, largely due to the
> administration's lackluster defense of the roadless
> rule in court, a
> federal district judge put a temporary halt to
> implementation of the rule.
>  The Bush Administration's cynical treatment of this
> policy, which has the
> strong support of the American people, is
> inexcusable.  See below for
> background, or visit
> http://www.wilderness.org/roadless.htm
>
> JUDGE ISSUES TEMPORARY INJUNCTION ON IMPLEMENTATION
> OF THE ROADLESS
> PROTECTION RULE
> On May 10, Idaho Federal District Judge Edward Lodge
> issued a preliminary
> injunction stopping the Forest Service from
> enforcing the Roadless Area
> Conservation Rule.  The Wilderness Society and other
> environmental
> intervenors in the case immediately filed an appeal
> with the Ninth Circuit
> Court of Appeals in San Francisco seeking a reversal
> of Lodge's decision.
>
> While the injunction remains in effect, the Forest
> Service could begin
> building new roads into roadless areas for timber
> sales, oil drilling, and
> other projects.  It is unclear at this time whether
> the agency will do so,
> given the administration's announcement last week
> that it is committed to
> roadless protection.
>
>
***************************************************************
>
> BUSH ADMINISTRATION AND THE ROADLESS RULE
> On May 4, the Bush Administration announced it would
> allow the roadless
> conservation rule to go forward, but that it would
> propose new amendments
> to the rule in June.
>
> PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
> The amendments that the administration intends to
> propose in June would
> greatly weaken the roadless area protection in the
> current rule. According
> to the administration's press release, the
> amendments will be based on
> five principles.
>
> **1. "Informed decision-making...through the local
> forest planning
> process." The failure of local forest planning to
> protect roadless areas
> is the main reason for the Roadless Rule. Under
> current forest plans, 59%
> of the inventoried roadless areas are open to road
> construction (34.3
> million acres out of 58.5 million). As Forest
> Service Chief Bosworth has
> stated, "From my perspective, it makes sense that
> the issue of whether or
> not to build roads into roadless areas is a matter
> of public policy as
> opposed to a forest planning question. For us to try
> to grind through
> forest plans once again with the roadless issue
> overshadowing everything
> else doesn't make sense" (The battle over roads;
> Missoulian; June 18,
> 2000; Sherry Devlin).
>
> **2. Working together with states and local
> communities.  With more than
> 1.6 million comments, the current Roadless Rule was
> developed with the
> most public participation in the history of federal
> rulemaking. More than
> 1,000 comments came from people in each of the 50
> states. Local
> decision-making consistently undervalues the
> national interest in roadless
> areas. The administration's proposal would allow the
> clear wishes of the
> American public for roadless area conservation to be
> overridden by a
> relative handful of development-oriented local
> residents and officials.
>
> **3. Protecting roadless forests from fire and
> insects.  This appears to
> be a veiled threat to conduct extensive salvage
> logging in the roadless
> areas. There is no scientific justification to
> salvage log roadless areas,
> which typically are the healthiest parts of the
> forest.
>
> **4. Protecting communities and property from fire.
> The Roadless Rule and
> EIS process have already dealt extensively with this
> issue and arrived at
> a reasonable compromise that balances the potential
> benefits and risks.
> While thinning overly dense stands of small trees
> may reduce fire risk,
> building access roads into roadless areas will
> increase fire risk. The
> Forest Service does not intend even to begin fuel
> reduction work in
> roadless areas for at least another decade, since
> they are located far
> from homes and communities.
>
> **5. Protecting access to property.  Access to state
> and private land
> inholdings is a non-issue, but opponents of the
> Roadless Rule have somehow
> failed to realize or admit it. The Forest Service
> has made it very clear
> that the Roadless Rule has no effect on access.
> Roadless areas are no
> different from any other national forest lands
> regarding inholder access.
>
***************************************************************
> For a full list of Action Items, visit
> http://www.wilderness.org/whatcan/takeaction.htm
>
***************************************************************
>
> An archive of past WildAlerts can be found at
> http://www.wilderness.org/wildalert/wildalerts.htm
>
***************************************************************
>
> WildAlert is an email action alert system brought to
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> Society to keep you apprised of threats to our
> wildlands -- in the field
> and in Washington. WildAlert messages include
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> Founded in 1935, The Wilderness Society works to
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>
***************************************************************
>
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