Momentum Has Shifted in Roadless Forest Debate
It has been six years since the Bush administration began its campaign to undo protection of 58.5 million acres of undeveloped national forest lands. In recent months, however, there have been two favorable court rulings and an election that produced a more conservation-minded Congress. “After facing a strong headwind, we now seem to have the wind at our backs,” says a hopeful Michael Francis, who heads our national forest program.
At issue is the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which bars most commercial logging and road building in unprotected roadless forest lands. The Bush administration replaced the rule with one that provided almost no protection. Last September Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte of the U.S. District Court reinstated the original rule. She concluded that the administration had failed to do the environmental studies necessary to set aside the 2001 policy.
To maximize the ruling’s impact, The Wilderness Society and other groups, joined by four state attorneys general, asked the judge to expand her order so as to block road building associated with oil and gas drilling in roadless areas in 14 national forests, mostly in the Rockies. We also urged her to call a halt to a road through Idaho's Salmon-Challis National Forest. On November 29 Laporte issued such an injunction.
The administration is expected to appeal her decision. Meanwhile, federal officials are encouraging governors to file petitions with the Forest Service proposing management schemes for roadless areas within their states. “Basically, this is a vehicle for bypassing the law,” says Mike Anderson, a natural resources attorney in our Seattle office. “Fortunately, five of the governors who have filed asked that all of their roadless lands be left alone. However, a petition from Idaho seeks to expose at least a half million acres to development.” The Idaho outcome remains in doubt.
Another question mark involves a 2003 injunction of the original rule that U.S. District Court Judge Clarence Brimmer issued in Wyoming. That decision became moot when the rule was rewritten, but after Laporte’s ruling, the State of Wyoming asked Brimmer to reinstate his ruling. As of press time, that decision was pending.
Yet another uncertainty is the status of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, which has more roadless land than any other forest: nine million acres. The Tongass is not covered by Laporte’s decision because in 2003 the Bush administration temporarily exempted the forest from the roadless rule. [To learn about the long-term management plan for this rare rain forest, click here.]
The Roadless Rule would have the force of law if Congress were to approve legislation to be introduced by Congressman Jay Inslee (D-WA) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN). “The change in leadership in Congress improves the chances of passing such a bill,” Francis says. “I suspect that we’ll also see some much-needed oversight of national forest management.” Please urge your representative to cosponsor this bipartisan measure. To track developments involving roadless forests, go to: www.wilderness.org/OurIssues/Roadless.
