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FORESTS: Bill would turn Clinton roadless rule into law

Published November 18, 2011 in News.

Phil Taylor, E&E reporter

Published:

 

A new bill introduced yesterday by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) would codify a Clinton administration rule that put nearly 60 million acres of national forests off limits to most logging and road building, a rule that was recently upheld by a federal appeals court (Greenwire, Oct. 21).The measure, which drew praise from environmental groups, would uphold a rule many regard as among the greatest conservation achievements in U.S. history, but which has been under legal assault for the past decade.”There is an urgent need to safeguard the remaining undeveloped forest lands as a home for wildlife, a haven for recreation and a heritage for future generations,” Cantwell said in a statement. “Our cities depend on roadless areas for drinking water, and our pristine forests support more than 100,000 outdoor industry jobs here in Washington.”

The bill, which was introduced in the last Congress and attracted several Republican co-sponsors, will likely face heavy resistance in the current Republican-led House, where some members have pledged to upend several government policies they say have locked up federal lands.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the chamber’s third ranking member, has a bill that would release most of the inventoried roadless areas into multiple use, which could include motorized recreation, logging or oil and gas development.

At the same time, the state of Alaska has filed its own legal challenge to the rule in a district court in Washington, D.C.

A report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service in spring suggested the issue may be best decided through an act of Congress (Greenwire, April 21).

 

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