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Bush removes logging barrier
By Tom Kenworthy, USA TODAY Fri May 6, 6:11 AM ET
The Bush administration on Thursday overturned one of the most significant land conservation measures of the Clinton presidency: a ban on roads, logging and development on 58.5 million acres of national forests. The move could open large pristine areas to industry.
The so-called roadless rule had affected 31% of all national forest land, mostly in Alaska and the West - an area about one-third the size of Texas.
President Clinton had put the far-reaching initiative in place in the final days of his administration. The Bush administration suspended it soon after taking office. Thursday's action was the final step in abandoning it.
A new rule gives governors 18 months to propose to the Agriculture Department which national forest land should be left untouched and which should be opened for other uses.
Though 38 states have some areas of national forests without roads, 97% of the land at issue is located in 12 Western states.
Rewriting the forest rules
The Bush administration is undoing Clinton administration rules that put 58.5 million acres of roadless national forest land - almost a third of the USA's federal forestland - off-limits. It is now up to the governors to recommend how much of that land merits protection. Roadless areas involved are in 38 states and Puerto Rico; but 97%, or 56.6 million acres, are found in 12 states:
State Total roadless area land (acres)
Alaska 14,779,000
Idaho 9,322,000
Montana 6,397,000
Colorado 4,433,000
California 4,416,000
Utah 4,013,000
Wyoming 3,257,000
Nevada 3,186,000
Washington 2,015,000
Oregon 1,965,000
New Mexico 1,597,000
Arizona 1,174,000
Click on map below to view all roadless areas in the U.S.
If a governor proposes no changes, the land would be managed according to 10-year guidelines set by each national forest. Under those existing guidelines, nearly 60% of the 58.5 million acres of roadless forest could be immediately opened for development. The remainder is guaranteed protection until a forest's guidelines are revised.
Giving states more control over how federal lands are managed represents a significant departure from decades of practice and could result in wide variations.
"To me, it ends up with a fragmented policy," said John Freemuth, a Boise State University professor.
But Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Rey said efforts dating back 40 years have failed. He said the views of state officials and local residents on how national forest land should be used have been ignored, inviting lawsuits.
Since the Bush administration first outlined its proposal last year, all six Democratic governors in the West - representing Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming - have criticized it to varying degrees. Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal called the new rule "a costly exercise in futility."
Western Republicans have been far more receptive. Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne called it a "much better process for managing" forests.
But Niel Lawrence of the Natural Resources Defense Council said the Clinton rule "protected many of the last, best wild lands the American public owns."
Bush removes logging barrier
By Tom Kenworthy, USA TODAY Fri May 6, 6:11 AM ET
The Bush administration on Thursday overturned one of the most significant land conservation measures of the Clinton presidency: a ban on roads, logging and development on 58.5 million acres of national forests. The move could open large pristine areas to industry.
The so-called roadless rule had affected 31% of all national forest land, mostly in Alaska and the West - an area about one-third the size of Texas.
President Clinton had put the far-reaching initiative in place in the final days of his administration. The Bush administration suspended it soon after taking office. Thursday's action was the final step in abandoning it.
A new rule gives governors 18 months to propose to the Agriculture Department which national forest land should be left untouched and which should be opened for other uses.
Though 38 states have some areas of national forests without roads, 97% of the land at issue is located in 12 Western states.
Rewriting the forest rules
The Bush administration is undoing Clinton administration rules that put 58.5 million acres of roadless national forest land - almost a third of the USA's federal forestland - off-limits. It is now up to the governors to recommend how much of that land merits protection. Roadless areas involved are in 38 states and Puerto Rico; but 97%, or 56.6 million acres, are found in 12 states:
State Total roadless area land (acres)
Alaska 14,779,000
Idaho 9,322,000
Montana 6,397,000
Colorado 4,433,000
California 4,416,000
Utah 4,013,000
Wyoming 3,257,000
Nevada 3,186,000
Washington 2,015,000
Oregon 1,965,000
New Mexico 1,597,000
Arizona 1,174,000
Click on map below to view all roadless areas in the U.S.
If a governor proposes no changes, the land would be managed according to 10-year guidelines set by each national forest. Under those existing guidelines, nearly 60% of the 58.5 million acres of roadless forest could be immediately opened for development. The remainder is guaranteed protection until a forest's guidelines are revised.
Giving states more control over how federal lands are managed represents a significant departure from decades of practice and could result in wide variations.
"To me, it ends up with a fragmented policy," said John Freemuth, a Boise State University professor.
But Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Rey said efforts dating back 40 years have failed. He said the views of state officials and local residents on how national forest land should be used have been ignored, inviting lawsuits.
Since the Bush administration first outlined its proposal last year, all six Democratic governors in the West - representing Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming - have criticized it to varying degrees. Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal called the new rule "a costly exercise in futility."
Western Republicans have been far more receptive. Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne called it a "much better process for managing" forests.
But Niel Lawrence of the Natural Resources Defense Council said the Clinton rule "protected many of the last, best wild lands the American public owns."
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