The Bush administration announced on Monday it was dropping a controversial Clinton-are regulation banning new roads on already roadless areas of national forests.

The Department of Agriculture said it would leave it up to states to seek protections on nearly 60 million acres of federal land. The new rule will be open for public comment.

The original roadless forest rule was controversial when it was finalized at the end of the Clinton administration. The Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, some Western states, the timber industry and other groups sued to block its implementation.

Other tribes supported the rule because it would limit development on traditional treaty lands. But some Alaska Native corporations opposed it because they said it would affect their logging business.

Get the Story:
Proposal would drop forestland protections (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 7/13)
Roadless Rules for Forests Set Aside (The Washington Post 7/13)
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Bush Seeks Shift in Logging Rules (The New York Times 7/13)
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UDSA Documents:
Press Release | Proposed Rule

Relevant Links:
Roadless Area Conservation - http://roadless.fs.fed.us