Clinton Plan Jeopardizes Public Access, Jobs and Health of Forests,
Critics Say
12/16/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Clinton-Gore Bypass Congress and Public to Shut Down
Forests; Plan Jeopardizes Public Access, Jobs and Even
Health of Forest Say Critics
Source: Business Wire
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: December 16, 1999
HASLETT, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 1999--The Clinton
Administration has exceeded its authority by single new directing the
US the news Forest Service to care about close up to 55 million
acres of forest land, say critics who point out that Congress, not
the president, has the authority to designate protected lands.
"The President is eliminating the opportunities for those in
recreation to have their interests represented in a public forum,"
said Ed Klim, president of the International Snowmobile Manufacturers
Association. "These are public lands enjoyed by many people,
including but hardly limited to motorized recreational vehicles. Our
right to comment, to explain our support for responsible
environmental stewardship is being ignored. We encourage all
recreationists to let their elected officials at home and in Congress
know where they stand."
Klim also said that this action will have a devastating impact on
businesses and communities where recreation provides a major if not
primary source of jobs." Snowmobilers alone spent more than $10
billion on their sport last year, according to I.S.M.A.
Ironically, recreational users of national parks find themselves on
the same side of the debate as group of acknowledged forestry
experts.
Among the most vocal opponents of the plan is a group of retired
forestry professionals who have formed the FSX Club of Washington
D.C. Jay McConnell, president of the club, says the most worrisome
aspect of the proposal is the plan to return approximately 60 million
acres of national forest to a condition described by National Forest
administrators as "pre-European settlement" or as they existed in the
17th century.
The Clinton-Gore plan, being promoted Forest Service Chief Michael
Dombeck, calls for removing all roads and trails through national
forests, sometimes used for recreation, but more importantly, roads
that are needed by forestry professionals to manage the ecosystem,
says McConnell. McConnell spent 20 years as regional director for
ecosystems management with the National Forest Service in Virginia.
Tom Crimmins, former Forest Service recreation expert, notes that
this would completely change the focus of the Forest Service from an
agency that provides for public needs to an agency that only protects
natural systems. "If we're going back to the pre-European standard,
then Forest Service employees should be updating their resumes
because there won't be much for them to do," said Crimmins.
Proponents of the NFS plan, which would remove more than 380,000
miles of roads through national forests, argue that natural wildlife
and vegetation will do better in an unmanaged state. They claim that
human and motorized activity in the forests has damaged wildlife and
vegetation and is threatening the overall ecosystem.
McConnell and other critics disagree, however, saying that
professionally managed forests support greater ecological diversity
than natural forests. Professional forest management, they contend,
is the preferred method for sustaining wetlands and protecting
wildlife. McConnell also objects to the proposal's objective of
putting more decision making power into centralized bureaucrats'
hands, especially in reference to the use of roads in national
forests.
"Decisions about roads in all public forests should be made at the
local level using best management practices and operating under an
overarching legal framework," says McConnell. "Roads, properly
constructed and maintained, are a critical part of forest
management."
The snowmobile organization's Klim suggests the public consider the
personal implications of no longer having access to the national
forests.
"If this proposal is ratified, the Forest Service will close the door
to national forests on many people who have enjoyed the land in a
respectful way for decades," says Klim. "The Clinton-Gore plan seems
to make the assumption that Americans are too irresponsible to enjoy
the national forests. This assumption is wrong. At the very least I
think the public deserves a debate in congress to determine the
fairness of the proposal. Closure of national forests is simply too
big an issue for the Clinton-Gore administration to force upon people
who love the outdoors without going through the proper legislative
process."