Montanans react to Bush's decision on roadless policy

By CLAIR JOHNSON
May 5, 2001

The Bush Administration's decision Friday to propose rule changes to a road-building ban on a third of the nation's forests drew praise and criticism from Montanans.

While Montana's Republican politicians supported the administration, conservation groups feared the state's last remaining roadless lands would be turned over to timber and mining industries.

In Montana, the roadless rules will affect about 6.4 million acres of national forest lands. Nationally, the rules apply to about 58.5 million acres.

The regulation was a key piece of the Clinton administration's environmental policy. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said the Bush administration will let the ban take effect May 12, but it wants to revise the rule to address what she said was a lack of local input. The rules would prohibit road-building and activities like logging and mining.

Gina Carty, press secretary for Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., said Burns is pleased that changes to be proposed to the rules will involve more local decision-making. Burns also believes Bush's approach will help address concerns about wildfires. Carty said access to the forests is necessary to protect public and private lands from the threat of wildfire.

Rep. Dennis Rehberg, R-Mont., said in a statement, "The administration's decision to re-examine the policy recognized the need for local management and that local people must have a chance to share their input and be involved in the decision-making process. That's how government should work."

Rehberg sent Bush a letter this week requesting the rules be reconsidered.

Also this week, Gov. Judy Martz's administration filed a legal brief in Idaho's federal court in support of Idaho's lawsuit to block the roadless rule from taking effect. Martz told President Bush in a letter, "Without adequate local involvement, I believe Clinton's Roadless Initiative will negatively impact the health of our nation's forests." Martz said she is considering other legal options to seek relief, which may include Montana filing its own suit against the federal government.

Ed Regan, of R-Y Timber in Townsend and board member of the Montana Wood Products Association, said the group agrees with the administration that the proper venue for deciding the roadless status within an area is at the local level in concert with the forest plan. "We are disappointed that the existing rule cannot simply be dismissed, but we understand the new president's desire to make changes in a lawful manner," Regan said.

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., wrote Bush this week asking the president to let the roadless rules go into effect even though he personally thought they went too far.

Baucus said it would be foolish to waste more time and money on a process that really began 30 years ago. He told Bush that it was time for the nation to "put the rhetoric behind us" and move beyond the roadless debate to focus instead on promoting the long-term health of rural communities and forests.

Baucus' press secretary, Bill Lombardi, said Friday that Baucus will follow the Bush administration on the issue.

Conservation groups denounced the Bush administration's decision and scoffed at idea that local views were not heard or considered in developing the national roadless rules.

"The locals have already spoken on this issue," said Tim Stevens, of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. "Industry didn't like the outcome. And when you don't like the outcome, you attack the process."

Stevens said Montanans have been debating what to do with the roadless lands for 20 years and that the process for the roadless policy began almost three years ago. The Forest Service held 31 public meetings throughout the state and 15,887 Montanans participated, with 12,515 Montanans, or 78 percent, favoring stronger roadless conservation rules, according to the agency.

"It's clear that with every hearing and poll and comment period that's taken place, Montanans have resoundingly said they support this policy," Stevens said. "Montanans understand that these lands are the bedrock for our wildlife and clean water and underpinnings of our economy."

Nationally, the Forest Service held more than 600 hearings and received comments from 1.6 million people, with 96 percent in favor of the road-building ban.

The Montana Roadless Working Group, composed of GYC, American Wildlands, the Ecology Center and Montana Wilderness Association, said that under the "guise of local control," the Bush administration, in effect, will open up Montana's remaining roadless lands to more development.

"The administration's version of 'local control' means putting Montana's last remaining roadless lands into the hands of the timber and mining industry," said Deb Kmon, of American Wildlands.

Alex Phillips, of the Montana Wilderness Association, said, "The administration's back door move to cripple the roadless policy flies in the face of broad-based public support for keeping Montana the way it is. This move jeopardizes some of Montana's last best places like the Gallatin Range, the Great Burn, Swan Range and the Rocky Mountain Front next to the Bob Marshall."