Report Of Governors Advisory Task Force On The Federal Roadless Initiative On Recent United States Forest Service Regulations Affecting Federal Forest Lands PDF Download

In part to recognize the importance of roadless areas for many purposes and in part because making project decisions involving roadless areas on a forest-by-forest basis was resulting in controversy and litigation that consumed considerable time and money, the Clinton Administration established a new nationwide approach to the management of the roadless areas in the National Forest System. A record of decision (ROD) and a final rule were published on January 12, 2001, to be effective March 13, 2001, that prohibited most road construction and reconstruction in 58.5 million acres of inventoried forest roadless areas, with significant exceptions. Most timber cutting in roadless areas also was prohibited, with some exceptions, including improving habitat for threatened, endangered, proposed, or sensitive species, or reducing the risk of wildfire and disease. With some exceptions, the new prohibitions would have applied immediately to the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. The Bush Administration initially postponed the effective date of the roadless area rule, then decided to allow it to be implemented while proposing amendments. However, the Federal District Court for Idaho preliminarily enjoined its implementation. The Forest Service then issued interim management directives that reversed the Clinton roadless rule by allowing, but not compelling, ...