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Obama Administration Orders Year-Long Ban On Roadless Forest Activities
May 29, 2009 10:42 a.m. EST
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Kris Alingod - AHN Contributor
Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack on Thursday said all projects in national forests will have to be personally approved by him for year, while the Obama administration tries to resolve conflicting court decisions about the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
In a memo, Vilsack said he will temporarily take over the decision-making authority of the U.S. Forest Service, which has had "difficulties doing its job" because courts have ruled to simultaneously uphold and overturn the rule.
"This interim directive will provide consistency and clarity that will help protect our national forests until a long-term roadless policy reflecting President Obama's commitment is developed," Vilsack said in a statement.
The roadless rule, as it is dubbed, was established by former President Bill Clinton and covers construction and reconstruction of roads and the cutting, sale, or removal of timber in 58.5 million acres of land in national forests and grasslands.
Implementation of the rule was transferred to states under the Bush administration, which replaced it with a voluntary governor petition process in 2005.
Numerous lawsuits for and against the Bush administration regulation as well as the roadless rule have been filed, and conflicting rulings have been issued. There are also still pending cases in several states.
Environmentalists have praised the Obama administration for the latest directive but also called for full reinstatement of the the roadless rule. Vilsack's directive does not affect national forests in Idaho, which the secretary said is exempt because it developed its own roadless rule through the Administrative Procedures Act.
"In the Senate and on the campaign trail, the President supported the roadless rule, one of the most significant land conservation measures in decades," Jane Danowitz, director of the Pew Environment Group's U.S. public lands program, said in a statement. "We are pleased he will take this critical step to honor his pledge to protect America's national forests and hope he will move quickly to fulfill it by taking swift action to reinstate the roadless rule."
The National Resources Defense Council said the year-long ban on logging and road construction will "provide vital protection" to national forests but pointed out that the moratorium protects only 50 million acres of the land covered under the roadless rule.
The Wilderness Society renewed its call for a roadless rule that covers all national forests including 9.3 million acres in Idaho.
"Our roadless forests safeguard clean drinking water for millions of Americans, provide recreational opportunities, protect habitat for wildlife, and provide a defense against the increasing threats of global warming," TWS President William Meadows said.
But Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT), chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, told the Salt Lake Tribune that local communities and stakeholders "are in a better position" to make decisions on "lands in their backyards."
"This is just one more example of the Obama administration choosing to centralize all decision making into a few hands in Washington while providing everyday citizens with fewer policy options and input," he added.
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