The Roadless Area Conservation Rule of 2001 was one of the most significant conservation measures in American history, ranking with the creation of the National Forest System under President Theodore Roosevelt and the Alaska National Interest Conservation Lands Act under President Jimmy Carter. Adopted by the Clinton Administration following more than 600 public hearings and the largest number of public comments ever recorded for any federal policy, the rule protected 58.5 million acres of unprotected but still undeveloped national forest lands from most commercial logging or other industrial development. The newly protected lands, in national forests throughout the country, encompassed 33 percent of the nation's major watersheds and provided needed habitat for 25 percent of our endangered species.

Last week the Bush Administration announced its intention to eliminate the Roadless Rule. Rather than exercise its authority and responsibility to protect these lands, the Bush Administration said that it will establish a process by which the governor of a state may petition the Forest Service to protect a roadless area or to allow it to be logged, mined, drilled, or otherwise torn apart. The Forest Service would then make the ultimate decision.

At the press conference administration officials peppered their remarks with populist rhetoric, calling their approach "respectful of local needs" and "respectful of state sovereignty." It is clear, however, that the new petition process has little to do with empowering local communities and a lot to do with giving timber, mining and the oil and gas industries unfettered access to public land. Timber, mining and oil interests pull a lot of weight in the capitals of Western states, and it was not by chance that the Administration chose to announce its proposed rule change in Idaho, the first state to challenge the Roadless Rule in court (unsuccessfully, thanks to Earthjustice).

More is at stake in the proposed rule change than the loss of watershed protection, recreational opportunities, wildlife, and federal control over federal lands. For one thing, the petition process will make long-term management of our federal lands more difficult than ever, as how they are managed will depend on who's currently governor in any particular state. And the potential cost to taxpayers is huge. Our national forests are already covered by a 386,000-mile network of roads, built largely for the benefit of the timber industry but paid for by the American taxpayer. The current bill simply for maintaining that network, without building more, is $10 billion dollars, all to be paid for by us.

Mark Rey, the Bush Administration official behind the rule change, worked for the timber industry for 18 years before becoming the Bush Administration's Undersecretary of Agriculture in charge of our national forests. He still does.

Vawter "Buck" Parker, Executive Director
buckparker@earthjustice.org