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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2008
Contact:
Paul Spitler, Center for Biological Diversity (541) 306-4772
Paul Hughes, (415) 974-4201; paul@forestsforever.org
Marc Lecard, (415) 974-4202; marc@forestsforever.org
Report Details Rollbacks for Idaho Backcountry
The Center for Biological Diversity, Forests Forever, and more than
50 other local and national conservation organizations have released
a report detailing the Bush administration’s plan to open
the door to development in Idaho’s roadless backcountry forests–
forests currently protected under the Roadless Area Conservation
Rule.
Idaho's 9.3 million acres of roadless backcountry make up the core
of the last intact forest ecosystem in the lower 48 states–
the last place where all of the native plants, fish and wildlife–
from the smallest plant to the largest predator– can still
be found.
“The loss of Idaho’s roadless-area protections would
help erode California’s protections,” said Paul Hughes,
executive director of Forests Forever. “The Bush effort to
undo roadless protections state by state should be stopped here
and now.”
“We can either leave our last pristine forests as they are,
or open the door to mining, logging and other corporate special
interests,” said Paul Spitler of the Center for Biological
Diversity, “The Bush administration has chosen the latter.”
The report, titled “Wild At Heart,” highlights key differences
between the two plans: current management under the protective 2001
Roadless Area Conservation Rule (RACR), and the Bush administration’s
proposed Idaho rule– part of the administration’s latest
push to undo roadless area protections on a state-by-state basis.
The RACR resulted from the most extensive and popular federal rulemaking
process in history and establishes reasonable and nationally-consistent
management policies for managing national forest roadless areas.
Compared to current management under the RACR, changes under the
Bush administration’s proposed Idaho rule include:
• Eight times more logging annually;
• A four-fold increase in annual road construction and reconstruction;
• An increase of 545 million tons of phosphate mining; and
• Opening an additional 609,500 acres to other mining, geothermal
and oil and gas exploration and development.
The U.S. Forest Service’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement
predicts the Bush administrations proposed Idaho rule would:
• Diminish natural processes, roadless characteristics, and
scenic integrity across 6 million acres (an area the size of Massachusetts);
• Adversely impact hunting and fishing opportunities;
• Negatively affect numerous species and habitats, including
611 sensitive plant populations;
• Increase the spread of noxious weeds across 609,500 acres;
• Compromise the wilderness character of currently pristine
forests.
“The ecological, economic and social impacts of changing current
management policies would be profound,” said Spitler, “which
is why the Roadless Area Conservation Rule should remain intact.”
Because Idaho is the first state petition analyzed under the administration’s
new flawed rule, it could set precedent for managing roadless areas
in other states. The administration has already proposed similar
rollbacks in Alaska and Colorado.
“Every remaining piece of roadless backcountry in our national
forest system deserves protection under the Roadless Area Conservation
Rule,” said Spitler.
The Forest Service will be soliciting comments on the new Idaho
rule through April 7th, 2008.
To download a print version of the report, click here:
Wild At Heart (PDF)
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