Roadless Rule
Fully Reinstated

Judge Says Forest Service Broke The Law

By Josh Mahan

U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Laporte enforced the law today and fully reinstated the popular and critical 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule after reviewing a law suit filed by 20 environmental groups and four western states.

Laporte ruled that proper environmental analysis was missing on roadless areas managed under the Bush Administration’s state petition process, and that Bush’s rule would have led to environmental harm.

“The Forest Service had to comply with NEPA when it issued the State Petitions Rule,” Laporte wrote in her ruling. “Accordingly, the Forest Service violated the ESA by failing to engage in the consultation process before issuing the State Petitions Rule.”

The Forest Service has yet to comment on exactly how the ruling will effect the 58 million acres in question. In fact they haven’t said a word. The 58 million acres makes up 2 percent of U.S. land base and 31 percent of National Forest lands.

The ruling comes on the same day Idaho Governor Jim Risch was expected to release a petition under the Bush rule that, if accepted, would open the majority of Idaho’s pristine roadless areas to logging, mining, and drilling. Risch became the first governor in the country to press for less protection of roadless areas. Both North and South Carolina Governors have turned in petitions asking for full roadless protection in their states because it draws people to the respective states for their exceptional quality of life. It turns out that large, undisturbed tracts of trees and clean water do make good economic sense.

The Roadless Rule was finalized in January 2001 after years of scientific study, 600 local public hearings and meetings and a record number of public comments. The Forest Service received over 2.5 million comments in favor of the rule. The rule protected 58.5 million acres nationwide while allowing temporary road construction in order to fight wildfires, protect public safety, and promote forest health. Conservationists say the rule ensured that National Forests would provide habitat for fish and wildlife, clean drinking water for millions of Americans, and endless opportunities for recreation.

In May 2005, the Bush administration repealed the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule in its entirety and substituted it with a state petition process that eliminated federal protections from logging and mining in millions of acres of national forests.

The latest ruling still leaves 9.3 million acres of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest at risk to road building.

United States Department of Agriculture Under Secretary Mark Rey and George Bush have attacked the Roadless Rule with such zeal and spite that it leaves one to question their patriotism. These wildlands are America’s home. This is where we fish. This is where we hunt. This is where we hike. This is where we conduct the same activities that humans have since time immemorial. This is where we live, how our grandmothers lived, and why our kids deserve a chance to live. When Bush brings a bulldozer into the Biscuit Roadless Area in Oregon he brings that bulldozer into my living room. And that’s not cool with me. In fact it makes me pretty pissed off.

These pieces of land are monuments to the American struggle. They are the ultimate symbols of freedom and learning; as much so as any monument constructed of concrete. Not destroying these lands for short-term capital gain demonstrates an evolution in our thought processes, our ethics and compassion. It shows humanity. In the salvation of these forests lies the salvation of our civilization; perched here on the brink as it is.

The days are numbered for Bush’s reign of terror on America’s environmental laws and wildlands. When the time comes and he faces trial for the atrocities he’s committed during his presidency, add the illegal destruction of America’s remaining roadless land to the list.