The Bush administration has called for a recount - of sorts.

Bill Clinton’s Roadless Initiative, which would have eliminated road construction, thereby restricting logging and other extractive activities like drilling and mining, on 58 million acres of national forests across the country, was scheduled to take effect on March 12. However, after the election, the Secretary of Agriculture extended the effective date to May 12.

Opponents of the Roadless Initiative wasted no time filing lawsuits against the measure. Despite confirmation hearing promises that he would vigorously defend the rule, Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Justice Department have declined to do just that in two pending cases. Instead, in response to suits filed by Boise Cascade Corporation and the state of Idaho, the Justice Department asked for another delay in implementing the initiative.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees the Forest Service, has asked for another public comment period on the initiative which would end on Sept. 10. A common complaint from opponents to the initiative is they didn’t have time to comment.

One wonders how that could be because the new rule was nearly three years in the making. Clinton announced his desire to protect roadless areas in 1997 when he directed the Forest Service to come up with a new scientific management policy. In October 1999 he announced the Roadless Initiative.

The Forest Service released a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in the spring of 2000 and began a series of public meetings and comment periods. Over 600 public meetings were held across the country, and one group estimated the total comment days for the different aspects of the process to be more than 190.

Apparently there was enough time for some to comment. The 1.6 million comments received by the Forest Service is nearly four times greater than any previous public comment received by any federal agency regarding a public policy initiative. Second place is 275,000 comments received in 1998 regarding organic food standards.

The unprecedented volume of comments were over 90 percent in favor of the initiative and led Tim Preso, attorney for Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, to comment, in March: “They’re going to tell you that the whole process leading up to the roadless decision was flawed because the public wasn’t adequately informed. But after 600 public meetings and 1.6 million comments, it’s clear the public was informed and spoke out in favor of protecting our last pristine forests. It’s not the process but rather the outcome that they don’t like.”

Timber companies like Boise Cascades certainly don’t like the initiative because it cuts into their pocket book. According to the Southern Environmental Law Center, only 5 percent of the nation’s timber comes from national forests. Only 5 percent of that five percent comes from roadless areas.

Energy companies also claim the roadless initiative would put a damper on production. But the Heritage Forests Campaign reports that 50 percent of national forest lands are already open to oil and gas production yet yield only 0.4 percent of the country’s domestic output.

Public support for this initiative is simply undeniable. Even in western states where political opposition to the ruling seems most intense, public support is strong. A Ridder/Braden poll in Washington state showed 72 percent of Washingtonians support the initiative. Even in Idaho, where the state is suing the federal government to halt the initiative, a recent poll showed 57 percent of the voters favored the initiative.

The Bush administration appears to be trying to muster an end-run around all the public support for the Roadless Initiative. However, the administration will not be able to nullify another outpouring of positive comments. This initiative is imperiled and support is even more critical during this comment period than the previous one.

If you enjoy hiking and camping in a forest free of the drone of ORVs; a place where bears are not enticed to garbage cans then persecuted for acting like bears; a place where forests are treated like forests rather than commodities — your comment could make a difference.

You may comment via mail at USDA-Forest Service - CAT, Attn: Roadless ANPR Comments, PO Box 221090, Salt Lake City, UT, 84122, or by email at roadless_anpr@fs.fed.us or by fax, 801.296.4090.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News