Bush administration gives governors big role in roadless forest areas
From staff and wire reports | Posted: Friday, May 6, 2005 12:00 am
A new Bush administration rule could overburden the governor's staff, hurt Wyoming fisheries, revive the logging industry, harm outdoor business, disappoint hunters and might provide a few drilling opportunities. Oh, and it may end up in court again as well.
That's a lot for one rule. But those were the reactions from a variety of Wyoming interests regarding a federal rule released Thursday to open 58.5 million acres of roadless national forest land - which President Clinton had set aside for protection - to possible logging, oil and gas drilling and other commercial uses.
Under the rule, governors can submit petitions within 18 months to stop road building on some of the 34.3 million acres where it would now be permitted or request that new forest management plans be written to allow the construction on some of the other 24.2 million acres.
The rule gives individual state governors 18 months to develop recommendations for state-specific levels of roadless area protection. The recommendations would then be sent through a national advisory committee, before being considered in statewide regulations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Gov. Dave Freudenthal blasted the move, calling it unfair to Wyoming.
"This is a costly exercise in futility for the states and a mechanism for the U.S. Forest Service to deflect political pressure," Freudenthal, a Democrat, said in a statement Thursday.
"I frankly wish they would have spent their efforts on making the planning process more effective and efficient for the average citizen rather than adding another layer (of bureaucracy)," the governor said.
But members of the state's congressional delegation praised the change.
"This rule embraces the idea that the people who best know how to manage our forests are the people who live and work around them," U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., said in a statement. "The knee-jerk rule issued by President Clinton in 2001 threatened local economies and the health of our nation's forests. The rule issued today by the Bush administration brings some much needed common sense and balance back to the process."
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said his agency, which includes the Forest Service, will work closely with governors "to meet the needs of our local communities while protecting and restoring the health and natural beauty of our national forests."
Democrats questioned why governors were getting so much power over land use.
"Trees, wildlife and fish don't respect state boundaries, and I don't think decisions about management of roadless areas - or other parts of the national forests - should be based on those lines, either," said Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo.
Eight days before leaving office in 2001, Clinton acted to take decisions about roadless forest land away from local federal managers. Environmentalists said the managers often were too close to logging companies and other developers.
"Any short-term economic gain that would result from turning over these areas to corporate special interests is significantly outweighed by the economic benefit of keeping them intact," said Steve Smith, The Wilderness Society's assistant regional director for Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.
The Forest Service will have final say over the governors' petitions. But the agency is creating an advisory committee to help put the rule in place.
The agency said petitions from the states could be based on requests to protect public health and safety; reduce wildfire risks; conserve wildlife habitat; maintain dams, utilities or other public works; or ensure that people have road access to their private property.
With the federal courts deeply involved since Clinton's action, the fate of the regulations is in doubt. For example, on Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Denver heard arguments from environmental groups that are appealing Cheyenne-based U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer's ruling overturning Clinton's move.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld Clinton's rule. Many of the same issues apply in both cases.
Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey, who oversees forest policy, said the new rule would cut away the legal uncertainty by getting states on the side of the federal government.
He emphasized that the rule probably would not lead to a big spurt of road building. "We've only been constructing a few miles of road each year," he said.
Jim Angell, a lawyer with the Earthjustice law firm, said plaintiffs already are lining up to challenge the changes announced Thursday.