Americans Say Protect Their Roadless Areas

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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

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Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises

http://forests.org/ -- Forest Conservation Archives

http://forests.org/web/ -- Discuss Forest Conservation

7/30/99

OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY by EE

Across political lines, in America there is support from protecting

all remaining large roadless areas in America's National Forests. By

any standard, the preservation and/or conservation management (for

such activities as recreation) of remaining wilderness is the best and

most judicious use of the land. This should include creating more

wilderness areas by removing roads from areas of otherwise outstanding

biological and scenic value.

g.b.

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Title: Americans say protect roadless areas

Source: Environmental News Network via CNN

Date: July 29, 1999

A majority of Americans favor a proposal to protect all national

forest roadless areas 1,000 acres and larger.

A poll released Tuesday reveals that Americans from all regions of the

country strongly support preserving the remaining undeveloped

"roadless" areas in U.S. national forests.

Nationwide, 63 percent of those polled believe there is not enough

wilderness protected on national forests, versus just six percent who

say too much has already been designated.

Protecting roadless areas has been controversial and the Clinton

administration is currently trying to develop a policy for road

construction and protection of roadless areas.

The U.S. Forest Service imposed an 18-month moratorium on new road

building in some roadless areas in February 1999, but the moratorium

does not apply to 25 national forests in eight states.

Currently, 30 percent of national forests are defined as roadless

areas larger than 1,000 acres. However, even though they're national

forests, they are not protected from logging, mining, and oil and gas

drilling activities which depend on roads.

Advocates of road building say ample land has already been protected

and that the protection of additional lands could be detrimental to

the nation's economy.

But most environmental groups say these areas should be protected

because they provide unrivaled opportunities for camping, hiking and

other recreational pursuits, valuable habitat for fish and wildlife

and abundant supplies of clean drinking water.

The poll, conducted by the Mellman Group, Inc., and commissioned by

the Heritage Forests Campaign, The Wilderness Society and the National

Audubon Society, shows that support for permanent protection of

national forest roadless areas cuts across political party, gender,

and regional lines.

"President Clinton has a special opportunity to give the gift of the

millennium to Americans of the 21st Century," said Ken Rait, director

of the Heritage Forests Campaign. "Like President Theodore Roosevelt

at the dawn of the 20th century, President Clinton can leave a legacy

of historic proportions by protecting the last untouched national

forest roadless areas."

Among the key findings of the poll are:

* 63 percent of Americans favored a proposal to protect all national

forest roadless areas 1,000 acres and larger;

* Voters surveyed overwhelmingly favor protecting vastly more land in

national forests than is currently protected;

* Overall, 68 percent of the women supported the proposal, with 64

percent of those identified as Republican women favoring the proposal

and 75 percent of those identified as Democratic women favoring the

proposal;

* The Clinton administration is generally viewed as not overzealous on

environmental issues;

* 75 percent of voters in the poll support a plan that would not

exempt any national forests from a roadless protection policy;

* More than 70 percent of voters favor a ban on oil drilling, logging

and mining in national forest roadless areas.

"There no longer should be any doubt that protecting national forests

roadless areas is good policy and good politics," said Dan Beard,

senior vice president of the National Audubon Society. "It is crystal

clear that the public wants the Clinton administration to take bold

action on this issue."

The poll was conducted between June 9 and 14 among 800 likely voters.

The margin of error for this survey is plus/minus 3.5 percent.

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