May 4, 2004

ROADLESS RULE PRESS STATEMENT

Good morning, my name is Michael Fiorentino, I am a Senior Attorney with Clean Air Council, a non-profit environmental organization with nearly 8,000 members in Pennsylvania and Delaware.

We are here today with representatives of the Allegheny Defense Project and the Heritage Forest Campaign to express grave concerns over the direction that the Bush Administration is taking our National Forests.

In 1905, Teddy Roosevelt created the National Forests. He and the first Forest Service Chief, Gifford Pinchot, the namesake of a state park nearby, recognized these majestic lands for what they are-national treasures that must be managed sustainably if a legacy is to remain for future generations.

By the late 1990s, the vast majority of the National Forests were unprotected from logging and mining. The Forest Service convened some 600 public meetings around the nation to talk about a plan to protect more. The response was overwhelming-1.6 million people commented on the resulting proposal, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which would make 31% of the National Forests off-limits to roadbuilding, logging and new mining.

When the Bush Administration took over, an executive order put a hold on the final Roadless Rule. But the American people continued to send in the call to move forward with the forest protections. As a result, on May 4, 2001, the Secretary of Agriculture, Ann Veneman, made a promise to uphold the Rule.

Today, on the third anniversary of that promise, we have to give the Secretary a nose extension. The Administration's actions speak louder than its words. When timber companies and some western states that oppose the Roadless Rule filed lawsuits in 2001, where was the Administration to defend its regulatory policy? To describe the defense efforts as lackluster would be generous. When Idaho and Wyoming District judges ruled against Roadless, the Administration made no appeal. Instead, they plan to reissue the Rule in revised form to meet its critics' demands. This failure of backbone comes despite the fact that a higher Court, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, heard an appeal of the Idaho decision brought by environmentalists and ultimately upheld the Rule.

Veneman has also undercut the Roadless Rule by announcing that the Tongass and Chugach National Forests in Alaska-9.8 million acres in the Tongass alone-will be exempt from the Rule. Equally deplorable are the indications that the revised rule will offer Governors the ability to "opt out" of its requirements. This option could set off a devastating race-to-the-bottom, with Governors desperate to avoid competitive disadvantage with neighboring states.

In short, while the Administration continues to claim it is upholding "roadless values," Veneman has effectively abandoned her pledge. In so doing, she disregards the will of nearly 2.5 million Americans, most of whom have commented in favor of the Roadless Rule.

In Pennsylvania, we are proud that Governor Rendell has urged President Bush to maintain the Roadless Rule without loopholes and exemptions. The Governor is correct to recognize the great value that National Forests hold for preservation of water quality and unmatched outdoor recreation. In fact, according to the Heritage Forest Campaign, U.S. Forest Service economists conclude recreation-related activities in roadless areas generate more value than timber sales. Forward-thinking leaders understand the need to preserve that value.

It is time to acknowledge our obligation for stewardship. It is time to stand firm in the face of corporate interests bent on squeezing profit from an irreplaceable public resource. It is time for this Administration to honor its commitments to the American People. And it's not too late to return to the original Roadless Area Preservation Rule.

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