Unprecedented protection for some of the most dense and undeveloped national forest land in the country was proposed by the White House in 1999, and, after hundreds of public hearings and millions of mostly positive written responses from the public, it was adopted in the final days of Bill ClintonÕs presidency.
The Roadless Area Conservation Rule, however, was a misnomer. Although it generally protected nearly 60 million acres from new roadbuilding and new logging, there were exceptions. The rule contained provisions to allow those activities if the purpose was to guard against forest fires, protect public safety, improve wildlife habitat or grant access for people with hard-rock-mining claims.
Many environmental groups, though supportive of the rule overall, were critical of those provisions. They lamented that the so-called roadless rule permitted existing roads to stay open and permitted off-road-vehicle enthusiasts to keep using them. They also complained that the rule did not designate the acreage as Òwilderness,Ó which would have afforded more protections.
Most Republicans and forest-industry companies opposed the rule outright, stating it was bad for business and greatly limited the publicÕs access to public lands.
Supporters of the rule fired back, saying forest protections are essential not only for preserving wildlife, but also for preserving human life. They said indiscriminate logging and roadbuilding harms the forestsÕ ability to provide clean air and act as a significant source of the nationÕs clean water.
On and on went the debate, which included court challenges.
In 2005 the Bush administration stepped in and rewrote the rule, giving governors the major say in how U.S. forests in their states were managed. That set off dueling decisions by federal judges, which meant that ClintonÕs rule prevailed in some states and BushÕs rule prevailed in others.
So what started out as the Clinton administrationÕs worthy effort to protect our last wilderness areas became divisive and too confusing for the U.S. Forest Service to manage.
Last week Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who oversees the Forest Service, called a timeout. He ordered that for the next year, any new proposals that would affect the roadless areas must be approved by him personally.
This is a sensible decision. The Obama administration will use the year to review all that has happened with the Roadless Area Conservation Rule since 2001. It will then propose its own policy. That is the best chance for this issue to finally be settled.
Source: Las Vegas Sun
