07/13/00 -- ACTION ALERT: Ban on U.S. Forest Roads Draws Record Public Outcry

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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

ACTION ALERT: Ban on U.S. Forest Roads Draws Record Public Outcry

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Forest Networking a Project of Forests.org

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

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

07/13/00

OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY

The Clinton administration's roadless forest plan has drawn a record

500,000 comments, certainly more than a few from this list's members!

Most either back the proposal or say it has not gone far enough. One

hundred and forty seven lawmakers have come out in favor of including

the massive Tongass National Forest in the plan, stating "excluding

the Tongass would severely compromise the scientific legitimacy of any

national policy on the protection of roadless areas in our national

forest system." The deadline for comments is this coming Monday. If

you haven't sent in your comments yet, see the recent alert:

< http://forests.org/recent/2000/shnearrp.htm > for background

information, and submit your thoughts at the U.S. Forest Service's web

site at http://roadless.fs.fed.us/ or via fax at 877-703-2494. The

entire resolution of this matter is in play now. Together we have a

chance to make history!

g.b.

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ITEM #1

Title: Ban on U.S. forest roads draws record public outcry

Date: July 11, 2000

By: Shanida Smith

WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) - A Clinton administration plan to ban

roads for mining, logging and other traffic in many U.S. Forests has

sparked a record 500,000 comments from the public, with most either

backing the proposal or saying it doesn't go far enough to protect the

environment.

The administration announced a plan in May to safeguard 43 million

acres of pristine national forests for hiking, bird watching, cross

country skiing, horseback riding, hunting, fishing and other nature

activities.

The U.S. Forest Service proposal would affect about one-fourth of the

total 192 million acres in the national forest system.

The proposal, which is expected to be finalized in December, drew an

unprecedented number of letters, e-mails and faxes.

"A record number of citizens have participated in the public comment

period for the Forest Service's roadless plan, expressing their

overwhelming support for protecting the remaining roadless areas from

roads and logging," Rep. Maurice Hinchey, a New York Democrat, told

reporters on Tuesday.

The outpouring of letters surpassed other high-profile rulemakings by

federal agencies, including U.S. Agriculture Department's plan for

organic food labels last year and the Food and Drug Administration's

regulation of cigarettes in 1996.

The road ban proposal is drawing criticisms from all sides.

The American Forest & Paper Association, a trade group, contends that

roadbuilding is necessary to provide forest access for recreation and

fire prevention. Also, some Americans need to reach their privately-

owned land using roads.

Lawmakers in western states that are home to large forest areas have

also criticized the proposal for failing to seek congressional input.

Meanwhile, some environmental advocates and even religious groups say

that it does not go far enough to protect virgin U.S. land.

"The current plan is not acceptable, as it contains loopholes big

enough to drive a logging truck through," said Gene Karpinski,

executive director of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

Hinchey said that while the proposal aims to protect the forests, it

is inadequate because it does not protect the Tongass National Forest

in Alaska, the nation's largest national forest.

"By excluding the Tongass and allowing continued logging in the

roadless areas, the president is passing up an historic opportunity to

protect our national treasures," Hinchey said.

The Clinton administration proposal would allow continued logging in

roadless areas by helicopters and cable systems. About 300 million

board feet of timber sales planned for the next five years would be

prevented by the road-building ban, according to the Wilderness

Society.

The public comment period for the proposal ends on Monday.

More than 380,000 miles of roads already exist in American national

forests and many of the roads are badly in need of repair, according

to the Clinton administration. The proposed ban would apply to large

parcels of forest land that do not have roads because of their rugged

terrain or environmental sensitivity.

ITEM #2

Title: HOUSE DEMOCRATS' LETTER PRESSES FOR TONGASS ROADLESS STATUS

Date: July 12, 2000

By: David Whitney, Daily News Reporter

Washington -- House Democrats are urging President Clinton to include

Alaska's Tongass National Forest in its final policy protecting

roadless areas of national forests.

In a letter to the president Tuesday, 147 House Democrats cited the

views of more than 300 scientists that "excluding the Tongass would

severely compromise the scientific legitimacy of any national policy

on the protection of roadless areas in our national forest system."

The U.S. Forest Service is preparing the roadless policy in response

to Clinton's call last October to protect remaining areas of national

forests that have not been roaded for logging. But when the Forest

Service issued a draft policy in May, it deferred inclusion of the

Tongass for four years, when work will begin on a new forest

management plan.

That decision was based on the work that had gone into the forest's

current management plan, which cut logging by more than half and

removed vast areas from the timber base to protect fish and wildlife.

The Tongass is the country's largest national forest. Its exclusion

from the roadless policy angered many environmentalists, who are

working to convince the White House to include it in the final policy

this fall.

Tuesday's letter was orchestrated by Rep. Bruce Vento, D-Minn., who

called the Tongass "the jewel in the environmental crown."

The number of Democrat letter signers matters, said Ron Olsen of the

Alaska Rainforest Campaign. It represents the votes that would be

needed in the House to sustain a presidential veto of any legislation

prohibiting the inclusion of the Tongass in the final policy.

Environmentalists have been worried that the Alaska congressional

delegation might try to attach such a provision as a rider to some

piece of must-pass legislation. But the roadless policy is facing a

much broader attack from Western Republicans on a Senate spending bill

for the Interior Department.

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, has proposed an amendment that could

prohibit spending any money next year to implement the roadless policy

in any national forest.

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