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JANUARY 8, 2000

In a move affecting 38 states, the US Department of Agriculture and the US Forest Service on Friday issued a set of final rules which limit logging and the construction of roads on nearly 60 million acres of federal forest land.

According to the government, the rules are the product of 1.6 million public comments, over 600 public meetings, and consultations with more than 180 tribes nationwide. President Bill Clinton first directed the two agencies to consider protecting forest lands in October 1999 and a final environmental impact statement was issued in November 2000.

But while Clinton thanked the American public for their "extraordinary support" in helping define them, they have drawn fire from Republican lawmakers and politicians in mostly Western states who are criticizing Clinton for the 11th hour action and who are seeking President-elect George W. Bush's help in changing them.

"This no way to implement such sweeping regulations," said Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico, where 1.6 million acres of land are affected. "I am confident they will be closely scrutinized, and possibly changed, as both the courts and Congress determine whether the Clinton administration properly carried out this cause."

Already, Domenici's promise of litigation appears to have been fulfilled. Governor Tony Knowles of Alaska, where almost 15 million acres are affected, announced on Friday his state would sue over the plan.

"The executive action announced in Washington today is based on little or no science, and makes a mockery of the public process," said Knowles. "Alaskans are tired of being double-crossed by the federal government with false promises of public involvement."

As public officials have reviled them, though, environmentalists have welcomed them in the name of conservation. With several exceptions, including the protection of treaty rights and public safety, the controversial rules prohibit new road construction and timber harvests on lands which are already considered "roadless."

For tribes, the rules highlight the dramatic changes in policy which have occurred during the Clinton administration. Under President Ronald Reagan, for example, the Forest Service decided to construct a road through the Six Rivers National Forest over the objections of the Hoopa Valley Tribes in California, who consider the land sacred and use it for ceremonial purposes.

The conflict eventually made its way to the Supreme Court, who in 1988 ruled against the tribes and other environmental groups. But tribal leaders throughout Indian Country were able to convince Clinton to issue an executive order in 1996 directing agencies to accommodate tribal use of federal land and avoid making decisions which "adversely" affect sacred sites.

Since then, tribal religious beliefs have affected decisions made by the Clinton administration. In the past year, the administration has shut down additional mining in the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona, considered sacred by several tribes, restored flows to the Trinity River in order to protect cultural traditions of the Hoopa and Yurok Tribes in California, and recommended against allowing a gold mine in California on land sacred to the Quechan Nation of Arizona.

With respect to the forest plan, responses from tribal leaders have been "mixed," according to the Forest Service. Many leaders supported them during the decision-making process, while seeking continued access to traditional and sacred lands.

Some also felt the rules didn't go far enough and suggested more restrictions. Still, others were worried that the rules would limit their economic opportunities.

For more on the final rule and lands it affects, visit the Roadless Area Conservation website of the US Forest Service at roadless.fs.fed.us.

Relevant Links:
The US Forest Service - www.fs.fed.us

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