ACTION
ALERT
***********************************************
FOREST
CONSERVATION NEWS TODAY
Bush
Administration Moves to Weaken Roadless Forest Protections
Only Two More Weeks for Public to Make
Comments!! Take Action Now!
***********************************************
By
Forests.org, Inc
August
25, 2001
TAKE
ACTION:
http://forests.org/emailaction/bushroad.htm
Lend your support to protection of America's
Last Roadless Forests
by submitting your comments to the U.S.
Forest Service online
BACKGROUND
We are
forced by the Bush Administration to once again ask you to
take
action to help save roadless areas on America's national
forests. Last year over 1.6 Million Americans - five
times more
people
than have ever expressed their opinions on any federal rule in
US
history -- wrote to the US Forest Service asking them to protect
America's
last wild National Forests. In January,
the US Forest
Service
responded by issuing the Roadless Area Conservation Rule,
which
protects the last wild 58.5 million acres of our National
Forests
from logging and road construction. The
rule ends virtually
all
commercial logging, road building, and new coal, gas, and oil
leasing
in America's wildest remaining national forest lands. The
roadless
plan represented a much-needed change in direction for
forest
policy, giving greater weight to the economic and
environmental
value of preservation.
As we
have reported earlier, now the environmentally negligent Bush
administration
has started the process over again and appears poised
to
propose a dramatically weaker roadless protection policy. George
W. Bush
is intent on undermining the most important forest
conservation
initiative in the past hundred years.
The
administration
wants to kill this long overdue and much needed
preservation
rule that its timber, mining and oil buddies don't like.
He
wants to turn these last wild forests over to the timber industry
- an
industry that contributed over $3.2 million to his election
campaign.
More
than two-thirds of the U.S. national forest system is criss-
crossed
by 380,000 miles of roads (enough to circle the planet more
than 16
times); that break up habitat, cause soil erosion, and leave
fragmented
stands of timber that are vulnerable to disease and
wildfires. The dwindling roadless areas that remain are
bastions for
large
mammals such as bears, wolverines, and lynx, and they protect
watersheds
that local communities depend on for drinking water.
Remaining
roadless areas (about a quarter of national forest land)
have
the heaviest concentrations of virgin stands of trees and
pristine
streams. With an $8.4 billion backlog
of road maintenance
needs,
the Forest Service cannot even maintain existing roads.
The
Roadless Policy protects the remaining pristine areas of
America's
rapidly diminishing wild National Forest lands without a
single
"No Trespassing" sign. No existing roads are closed, all
trails
remain open, and the public enjoys access to recreation on
these
treasured National Forest lands without the threat of clearcuts
or
industrial development.
Ninety-five
percent of the 1.6 million official comments that lead to
the
Roadless Area Conservation Rule favored the strongest possible
protection
for the remaining roadless areas in America's National
Forests. Over 600 public hearings were held all
around the nation.
Nevertheless,
the Bush administration has declared that this rule was
made
with inadequate public input. In July of
this year the Bush
administration
instituted a new public comment period requesting
answers
to ten loaded questions that portend reversal of the rule and
the
loss of hard-won protections for America's for wild forests.
Forests.org
has made it easy to submit your comments in support of
roadless
forest protection on our web site at
http://forests.org/emailaction/bushroad.htm;
or better yet, use the
attached
sample comments below and send a letter or fax. But hurry,
there
are only two weeks more to get comments submitted, with the
September
10th deadline looming.
WHAT
YOU CAN DO
TAKE
ACTION:
http://forests.org/emailaction/bushroad.htm
Lend
your support to protection of America's Last Roadless Forests
OR SEND
PERSONALIZED COMMENTS ON NEED FOR ROADLESS FOREST PROTECTIONS
Send a
comment letter to Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth.
Comments
should try to answer to the ten scoping questions. Comments
must be
received by September 10, 2001. Send
comments in writing by
mail
to:
USDA-Forest
Service - CAT
Attn:
Roadless Comments
P.O.
Box 221090
Salt
Lake City, UT 84112
Additionally,
comments may be sent by email or fax:
Via
email: roadless_anpr@fs.fed.us
Via
fax: (801) 296-4090
All
comments, including names and addresses when provided, are placed
in the
record and are available for public inspection and copying at
Salt
Lake City, Utah. Include as much place
specific information as
possible
in your comments. Chief Bosworth said
that these kinds of
comments
will receive additional weight by the agency.
SAMPLE
LETTER
Mr.
Dale Bosworth
U.S.
Forest Service Chief
Dear
Mr. Bosworth,
I am
writing to insist that you maintain strong roadless
area
protections in National Forests, as they are currently
formulated. Following are my comments to your recent
scooping
questions:
1.
Informed Decisionmaking. What is the appropriate role of local
forest
planning as required by NFMA in evaluating protection and
management
of inventoried roadless areas?
Local
forest planning has clearly failed to provide adequate
protection
of roadless areas, having resulted in the destruction of
2.8
million acres of roadless areas over the past 20 years. Under
current
forest plans, about 60 percent of the remaining roadless
areas
are available for road construction, logging, and other
commodity
development. Only a uniform national rule can protect
roadless
areas permanently. Roadless areas are a
finite resource in
worldwide
decline. Policy decisions affecting
roadless areas affect
all
Americans, thus the national level is the appropriate level to
manage
for clean air, clean water, and continued existence of
roadless
areas.
2.
Working Together. What is the best way for the Forest Service to
work
with the variety of States, tribes, local communities, other
organizations,
and individuals in a collaborative manner to ensure
that
concerns about roadless values are heard and addressed through a
fair
and open process?
The Roadless
Area Conservation Rule was developed through the most
extensive
public involvement in the history of federal rulemaking,
with
more than 600 public hearings nationwide.
More than 1.6 million
Americans
submitted official comments, 95% of which supported
strongest
possible protections for remaining roadless areas. States,
tribes,
communities, and the general public had ample opportunity to
review
and comment on the proposal. This
question erroneously
assumes
the previous process was unfair and closed.
The process used
by the
Clinton administration should be used, and its policy outcomes
implemented. In other words, we have already answered
these
questions
and are waiting for the Bush administration to act.
3.
Protecting Forests. How should inventoried roadless areas be
managed
to provide for healthy forests, including protection from
severe
wildfires and the buildup of hazardous fuels as well as to
provide
for the detection and prevention of insect and disease
outbreaks?
The
Roadless Area Conservation Rule already provides exceptions that
allow
road building and logging when needed to address concerns of
wildfires
and forest health. According to the Forest Service, less
than 2%
of the inventoried roadless areas are at combined risk of
insects,
disease, and fire. Wildfires are much
more likely to start
in
areas with roads, due to increased public access. Research
indicates
ecosystem health declines as road densities increase. This
question
reflects a poor understanding of forest ecology. Wildfires,
disease
outbreaks, and insect infestations are part of the
forest
health cycle. The best way to maintain
healthy roadless areas
is to
keep them roadless.
4.
Protecting Communities, Homes, and Property. How should
communities
and private property near inventoried roadless areas be
protected
from the risks associated with natural events, such as
major
wildfires that may occur on adjacent federal lands?
Roadless
areas are a backstop against catastrophic wildfire events.
Unroaded,
uncut forests have retained their larger, fire-resistant
trees,
while areas growing back from clearcuts are often comprised of
unnaturally
thick stands of smaller trees that burn easily. Roaded
forests
face a higher risk of catastrophic fire, as waste from timber
operations
acts as tinder for flames, and road access brings more
people
who unintentionally ignite forest fires.
The risks from
natural
events cannot be eliminated, only reduced.
Wild fires are
important
in maintaining the natural ecological function of roadless
forests,
and should be left to burn in most instances.
Those wishing
to live
near roadless wilderness areas should bear the cost of fire-
proofing
their structures.
5.
Protecting Access to Property. What is the best way to implement
the
laws that ensure States, tribes, organizations, and private
citizens
have reasonable access to property they own within
inventoried
roadless areas?
Access
to property is already ensured in the present rule. The
Roadless
Area Conservation Rule has no effect on access to state and
private
land inholdings. Roadless areas are no
different from any
other
national forest lands regarding inholder access. The Bush
administration
should not be perpetuating the myth that the current
Rule
denies access to property inholdings.
6.
Describing Values. What are the characteristics, environmental
values,
social and economic considerations, and other factors the
Forest
Service should consider as it evaluates inventoried roadless
areas?
There
are tremendous environmental, social, and cultural values
associated
with roadless areas. These
include:
(1)
scientific value - they provide the only meaningful baseline
against
which forest management can be evaluated;
(2)
wildness value - humans can not create wildness. Wildness helps
us
understand ourselves as part of something larger and grander.
(3)
conservation value - roadless areas act like Noah's ark, ensuring
all
species are provided for. Scientists do
not know how to ensure
long-term
ecosystem sustainability, and advise that we "keep all the
parts"
as they study the problem;
(4)
spiritual value - our great religious figures, like Jesus, had to
spend
time in the wilderness before beginning their ministry.
(5)
cultural value - wilderness is an American idea and one of our
greatest
exports. Vast roadless areas built the
national character,
influenced
our expansionist history, and our writers like Cooper,
Emerson,
Thoreau, and Leopold. The continued
loss of roadless areas
breaks
our links with our history and our sense of identity as
Americans.
(6)
replacement value - roadless areas are finite.
They can be
eliminated
in as little as a summer, but require decades-to-centuries
to be
recreated. Because they are vulnerable
and important, they
need
protection;
(7)
future value - roadless areas represent a legacy we can leave for
our
children so that they can decide how to manage them. If we
eliminate
roadless areas now, we foreclose that option.
(8)
freedom value - in his novel 1984, George Orwell's totalitarian
dictator
"Big Brother" made the elimination of wilderness his top
priority. Wilderness was a place where thought could
not be
monitored
or controlled, and therefore represented a threat to the
regime.
Roadless
areas:
-Provide
sources of clean drinking water;
-Protect
water quality for fishing and swimming;
-Function
as biological strongholds for rare wildlife;
-Provide
large, relatively undisturbed landscapes important for
protecting
the web of life;
-Present
opportunities for stepping outside of the hustle and bustle
of
daily life and returning to nature;
-Serve
as barriers against the spread of weeds and pests into
pristine
areas;
-Offer
opportunities for scientific study and research;
-Provide
open space and unspoiled vistas;
-Preserve
areas needed for traditional Native American religious and
cultural
observances;
- and
generally maintain local and regional ecosystem sustainability.
The
commodity values in roadless areas are not significant. Roadless
areas
provide less than two-tenths of one percent of the nation's
timber
supply, and commercial logging of roadless areas would require
large
taxpayer subsidies. Similarly, roadless areas in the Rocky
Mountains
contain only four-tenths of one percent of the nation's oil
resources
and six-tenths of one percent of U.S. gas resources.
The
real economic value of national forests comes from recreation and
environmental
quality of life, which the Roadless Area Conservation
Rule
carefully preserves. Approximately 85 percent of the revenue
generated
from America's national forests comes from recreational
activities,
more than five times the amount generated by logging.
7.
Describing Activities. Are there specific activities that should
be
expressly prohibited or expressly allowed for inventoried roadless
areas
through Forest Plan revisions or amendments?
Commercial
logging, mining, oil drilling, ORV use, and pack animals
should
be banned in all roadless areas.
Scientific study, hunting,
fishing,
hiking, camping, and firewood collection are compatible
uses. "Land swaps" disposing of roadless
areas must be prohibited.
Allowing
forest plans to make additional exceptions for specific
activities
would completely undermine the Rule, setting the stage for
a
return to the incremental destruction of roadless areas that the
Rule
was intended to stop. Roadless areas
should receive additional
protection
through the forest planning process, especially from
destructive
off-road vehicle use and hard-rock mining.
8.
Designating Areas. Should inventoried roadless areas selected for
future
roadless protection through the local forest plan revision
process
be proposed to Congress for wilderness designation, or should
they be
maintained under a specific designation for roadless area
management
under the forest plan?
Both
should be pursued. This is not an
either/or issue, and no
changes
in the Roadless Area Conservation Rule are needed to address
it. By law, forest plans must evaluate the
wilderness potential of
all
roadless areas and make recommendations for wilderness
designation
by Congress. The Rule allows the
wilderness
recommendation
process to continue. Forest plans also designate
roadless
areas for continued roadless management, regardless of
whether
they are recommended for wilderness.
The Rule ensures that
roadless
areas will, at a minimum, be protected from road
construction
and commercial logging.
9.
Competing Values and Limited Resources. How can the Forest Service
work
effectively with individuals and groups with strongly competing
views,
values, and beliefs in evaluating and managing public lands
and
resources, recognizing that the agency can not meet all of the
desires
of all of the parties?
The
Roadless Rule represents a balanced approach to managing National
Forests.
The majority of land in the National Forests is already open
to
logging, mining, and drilling, while just 18 percent is designated
wilderness. The Rule will protect the remaining 31
percent of the
National
Forests that are roadless areas as a natural legacy for
future
generations. The Roadless Area
Conservation Rule enjoys the
overwhelming
support of the American people. While
some people
disagree
with the Rule, the Bush administration needs to respect the
expressed
views of the vast majority, who have made it abundantly
clear
that they want protection for all roadless areas.
10.
Other Concerns. What other concerns, comments, or interests
relating
to the protection and management of inventoried roadless
areas
are important?
This
questionnaire is highly biased and unnecessary. The American
people
have spoken, and the Roadless Area Conservation Rule should be
retained
and implemented as is. The Bush administration needs to do
all
that it can to ensure protection of America's remaining roadless
areas. In particular, the Forest Service should
stop preparing
timber
sales in the Tongass National Forest that are in violation of
the
Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The
administration should also
stop
undermining the legality of the Rule and begin mounting a
vigorous
defense against the lawsuits challenging the Rule. In
addition,
the Administration should call off its efforts to weaken
the
environmental safeguards and public participation opportunities
in the
forest planning regulations.
The
existence of the last uniquely American forest landscapes is at
stake. I urge the Forest Service to immediately
implement the long
overdue
Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
Sincerely,
** This
Alert was compiled with information from the Heritage Forests
Campaign,
American Lands and many others.
See
Forests.org's "United States of America Forest Conservation News
&
Information, Most Recent" news archive - the most comprehensive
source
of information on American Forest Conservation on the Internet
- at
http://forests.org/america/ for more information.
You may
also use Forests.org's unique Forest Conservation Portal
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engine to find additional news and information:
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Copyright
2001, Forests.org, Inc.