WHAT IS THE ROADLESS AREA CONSERVATION
RULE?
On January 12, 2001, Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman
and Forest Service Chief Michael Dombeck signed into
law
the most widely supported federal policy in U.S. History,
the Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
This
reasonable and well-balanced rule protects the last
remaining wild and intact 58.5 million acres of National
Forests and Grasslands from road construction and
most logging, drilling, and mining. Exceptions are
made for extraordinary circumstances such as fighting
fire, protecting public safety, and access to state
and private lands. These
last great wild places are enjoyed by millions of
hikers, campers, hunters and anglers. They are
some of the last remaining strongholds for grizzly
bears, wolves, elk, salmon, and wild trout. And they
are the purest sources of drinking water for tens
of millions of Americans. The
benefits of roadless areas are immeasurable.
The Roadless Rule, as adopted:
•
Protects 58.5 million acres of national forest
land in 39 states, including intact old-growth
temperate Rainforests in Alaska's Tongass National
Forest
• Maintains current public access and
recreational opportunities, including hiking,
camping, hunting and fishing;
• Preserves critical habitat for fish
and wildlife, including more than 1,600 threatened,
endangered, or sensitive plant and animal species;
• Safeguards clean water from forest
headwaters and streams, the source of drinking
water for more than 60 million Americans;
• Allows for actively managing lands,
when necessary, to restore ecological processes,
provide habitat for endangered species, or avert
catastrophic wildfire; and
• Maintains access to state and private
property within national forests. |
The
Most Popular Federal Policy in US History
The Roadless Area Conservation Rule was enacted following
more than two decades of broad debate and three years
of official review and public participation. More
Americans took part in this rule-making process than
in any other federal rule making in history.
The Forest Service held more than 600 public meetings
and hearings throughout the country and received a
record-breaking 1.7-million official comments: five
times more comments than in any other federal rulemaking
process. More
than 95% of these comments supported the strongest
possible protection for all of the nation's remaining
roadless areas.
According
to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, "Never before
have the American people so actively participated
in helping to decide how their public lands should
be managed."
Our
Last Wild Forests at Risk
Just
as the new rule was scheduled to take effect, the
Bush administration moved to block it. First, White
House Chief of Staff Andrew Card froze its implementation.
Already under fire for weakening clean air and water
standards, the administration spent months formulating
a strategy to undermine the rule without arousing
the ire of the public that supported it.
They
have attempted to implement this strategy by pledging
to support "roadless values" in public while
simultaneously failing to defend the rule in a lawsuit
brought by the timber industry, and by issuing a steady
stream of obscure regulatory changes that undermine
the provisions of the Roadless Rule. In the past few
months, the Bush administration has proposed scores
of revisions to the regulations for implementing the
laws that protect our national forests, including
the National Environmental Policy Act, and the National
Forest Management Act, all of which would increase
access by timber and mining companies and remove the
American people from public land management decisions.
In
a lawsuit brought by Boise Cascade, the largest purchaser
of timber from national forests, the
Bush administration abdicated their role as defendants
in the suit, with the hopes of losing the case and
blaming the reversal of the rule on the courts.
On May 10, 2001 the administration and its corporate
allies got their wish in the form of an injunction
by Judge Edward Lodge of Idaho. A year later, however,
the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Judge Lodge's injunction,
and the Roadless Area Conservation Rule again became
law. New rulemaking will likely be announced in
2004 that re-writes the current rule itself and weakens
or removes protections for roadless areas in the lower-48
states.
The
key to the protection of our nation's last wild national
forests continues to be the steadfast will of the
owners of these lands - the American people.
Please join Wild Virginia
in ensuring that what remains of our wild forest heritage
is protected...
Forever
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