Defenders Slams Forest Service Backdoor Rollback on Roadless Areas
Schlickeisen Calls Plan "Bait and Switch"
(06/11/2003) - WASHINGTON – Defenders of Wildlife today condemned moves by the U.S. Forest Service to open protected forest lands in the Tongass and Chugach National Forests in Alaska, and paving the way for roadless area rollbacks all across the rest of the country. The announcement by Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Rey, a former top timber lobbyist, reverses an announcement less than a month ago that the Forest Service would let stand protections on more than 58.5 million acres of spectacular, unroaded wild forests. Undoing the Roadless Rule is just one part of the Bush administration’s agenda to reverse national forest policy across the board to reflect industry’s wishes, including by rewriting the fundamental National Forest Management Act rules guiding all activities on national forests."This sets a new low for underhanded attacks by this administration on our environmental laws. Right after saying they would listen to overwhelming public support for protecting these magnificent places, Mark Rey throws open hundreds of thousands of acres in Alaska to his friends in the timber industry, and leaves the barn door ajar for them to get at the rest," said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife.
In a maneuver that is becoming a common tactic for the Bush Administration to change environmental regulation in favor of industry without public input, the Forest Service settled a suit by the State of Alaska by offering to exempt the Tongass and Chugach from roadless area protections, potentially opening millions of acres of habitat for bald eagles, brown bears, and a host of other species to logging and roadbuilding. Rey threatened to extend this exemption to all U.S. national forests by inviting governors of the other states to request "waivers of the roadless rule" for a wide range of logging activities.
The landmark Roadless Area Conservation rule was developed through an intensive two year process of public hearings and involvement, including more than 1.6 million supportive public comments and extensive scientific input. A federal appeals court rejected the timber industry’s legal challenge to the rule, despite the fact that the Bush Administration refused to defend the rule in court.
"Mark Rey realized he couldn’t kill the Roadless Rule outright, because of the overwhelming public support for it, so he decided to pull a bait and switch on behalf of his industry friends," Schlickeisen said.
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Defenders of Wildlife is one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and habitat, and was named as one of America's Top 100 Charities by Worth magazine. With more than 430,000 members and supporters, Defenders is an effective voice for wildlife and habitat. To learn more about Defenders of Wildlife, please visit www.defenders.org.
Contact(s):
Brad DeVries, (202) 772-0237
