USDA Enjoined on Roadless Map

May 14, 2001

The U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho enjoined "preliminarily" USDA from implementing on Saturday the roadless area conservation rule. However, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said the decision does not preclude USDA from moving forward with efforts announced last week for "a responsible process that addresses reasonable concerns raised about the rule."

The Bush administration "is committed to providing roadless protection for our national forests," Veneman said. "USDA will move forward with a responsible and balanced approach that fairly addresses concerns raised by local communities, tribes, and states impacted by the rule." That forward movement will be based on five "principles":

-- Informed decision-making: USDA will examine more reliable information and accurate mapping, including drawing on local expertise and experience through the local forest planning process;

-- Working together: USDA will work with states, tribes, local communities and the public through a process that is fair, open, and responsive to local input and information;

-- Protecting forests: USDA will protect roadless areas from the negative effects of severe wildfire, insect and disease activity;

-- Protecting communities, homes, and property: USDA will work to protect communities, homes, and property from the risk of severe wildfire and other risks that might exist on adjacent federal lands; and

-- Protecting access to property - USDA will ensure that states, tribes, and private citizens who own property within roadless areas have access to their property as required by existing law.

"Even with today's ruling, USDA will move forward with an open and fair process that addresses the concerns raised by this rule," said Veneman. "It is important that we address these issues to ensure the protection of our forests while addressing reasonable issues raised by the rule."

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS took a somewhat different approach in an article. "Expanses of national forest land that would have been spared from logging and road building ... won't receive that protection after a federal judge blocked the Clinton administration policy," the news agency said. The road ban would have prevented logging, road construction and other activities on 58.5 million acres of federal forests, except in rare circumstances. It was one of President Clinton's key environmental legacies.

U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge in Boise, Idaho, blocked the rule, saying it would cause "irreparable harm" to federal forest lands and those that neighbor it. The four-page ruling came less than a week after the Bush administration said it would implement the rule on Saturday while work continued on revisions to allow more local input.