Ann Veneman, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture announced the governments intention to abandon roadless protections for over 58 million acres of national forest. This decision has the potential to open these lands to deforestation by timber and mining companies, significantly limiting the access of millions of Americans to outdoor recreation.
The proposed rule would replace the Roadless Rule, leaving all 58 million acres of inventoried roadless areas in the U.S. open to road building, logging, and resource development. Until a state governor petitions for protection, management of inventoried roadless areas would be based on the individual forest management plans, which often require no special protections.
“This opt-in approach to roadless management provides no guarantees of real, long-term protections for roadless areas,” said Frank Hugelmeyer, president of Outdoor Industry Association. “The future of recreation destinations essential to the health of the outdoor recreation industry is at stake.”
The “state petition” process that the Forest Service proposed would require a two-step process for permanent protection of roadless areas on the national forests. First, a state governor would have to prepare an administrative petition for roadless areas in their state. The Forest Service could simply reject this petition out-of-hand.
Second, if the petition were agreed to, the Secretary of Agriculture would establish a formal rulemaking process on a state-by-state basis to consider permanent protection of the roadless areas in question. This administrative rulemaking is time-consuming and the administration could simply decide not to grant protection. Instead of creating a federal policy that protects roadless areas unless petitioned, the new rule leaves these areas open to development unless petitioned.
“The Bush administration's announcement today will immediately imperil wild forests across the country, leaving them vulnerable to commercial timber sales and road building,” said Carl Pope, Sierra Club Executive Director. “These wild forests are special places of national significance and need a national policy to ensure their proper management.”
Members of the Outdoor industry Association saw the potential impact a decision like this could have on the outdoor industry, and have been actively fighting against this recent development. Nike, adidas-Salomon, Columbia Sportswear, Montrail, Metolius, and over one hundred of other major corporations have sent letters to the federal government stating that a reversal of the roadless rule would, “negatively impact our nation's natural resources, our citizens' outdoor experience and, ultimately, our industry's financial health.”
