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Lawmakers to try again to codify Clinton roadless rule |
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House and Senate lawmakers are expected to reintroduce bipartisan
legislation today to codify the Clinton-era roadless rule that blocked
logging, roadbuilding and other development on 58.5 million acres of
national forest.
The bill, also introduced without success in the past three
congressional sessions, would seek to end the ongoing regulatory and
legal fight over management of the roadless areas.
Although the bill would face strong opposition, the Democratic
Congress changes the equation, said an aide to Rep. Jay Inslee
(D-Wash.), a cosponsor. Other sponsors of the House bill: Reps. Chris
Shays (R-Conn.), George Miller (D-Calif.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Maurice
Hinchey (D-N.Y.) and Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.).
Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and John Warner (R-Va.) plan to introduce the companion measure in the Senate.
Currently, the roadless rule is in effect on about 50 million
acres of national forest in the lower 48 states, thanks to a September
2006 ruling from Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte in San Francisco.
Siding with Democratic attorneys general from California, New
Mexico, Oregon and Washington, along with 20 environmental groups,
Laporte found the Bush administration violated the National
Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act by failing to
conduct an environmental analysis of removing roadless protections on
the forests and on endangered species.
Laporte has since issued an order prohibiting the Forest
Service from taking any action, such as approving oil and gas drilling
permits, that would violate the Clinton roadless rule, but the Bush
administration and timber industry have appealed to the 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals.
In the interim, the administration is entertaining petitions
from state governors under the Administrative Procedure Act to write
state-specific rules governing roadless acres. The Forest Service has
agreed to begin a draft study of Idaho's proposal to remove 9.3 million
acres of national forests from the roadless rule, replacing the
roadless designation with a patchwork of management plans, some of
which would allow timber cuts.
And Colorado's Gov. Bill Ritter (D) has petitioned the Forest
Service as well, calling for a state-specific rule on 4.1 million acres
as an "insurance policy" to protect forests from development (Land
Letter, April 9).
This week, Mark Rey, Agriculture's undersecretary for Natural
Resources and Environment, said that it might take as long as 18 months
to complete rules based on Colorado's petition. In the meantime, he
pledged support for keeping the state's roadless areas off limits.
Wyo. hearing
The state of Wyoming will once again attempt to enjoin the
Clinton-era roadless rule at a hearing tomorrow in front of Senior
Judge Clarence Brimmer in Cheyenne. The hearing was originally
scheduled for April 18.
Wyoming is asking Brimmer to reinstate a 2003 nationwide
injunction against the Clinton rule. If Brimmer revives his injunction
against the Clinton rule, the Forest Service would be stuck between the
Wyoming judge and Laporte.
The Bush administration, which has opposed the Clinton rule
since January 2001, opposes Wyoming's motion on procedural grounds.
Because the administration formally acted to replace the Clinton rule
in mid-2005, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated Brimmer's
decision as a matter of legal course. If Brimmer reinstates his 2003
decision, it would violate the 10th Circuit's order, the Justice
Department argued.
In the event Brimmer does not revive his roadless injunction,
Wyoming has filed a separate lawsuit attempting to overthrow the
Clinton rule. A pre-trial conference is scheduled in Cheyenne with
Magistrate Judge William Beaman on May 31.
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