Confusing Traffic Signs for Idaho Roadless Issue
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Boise, ID – Idaho's plan for roadless areas in forests looked like it had green lights all the way to Washington D.C., but the Bush administration is throwing up a roadblock. The administration is ignoring the state request to protect millions of acres of backcountry. Jonathan Oppenheimer with the Idaho Conservation League says the Idaho plan reflects a lot of discussions and compromise to protect forestland.
"It's not like (then-Governor) Risch was on his own when he was making that commitment, it was backed up by special interests and the industries in Idaho."
Coby Tigert with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition says the new federal plan opens forests in southeast Idaho to more phosphate mining. He says almost every phosphate mine ever opened in the area, and even those still operating, are Superfund clean-up sites because of extensive water and land contamination.
"They have not really developed a way to mine phosphate without creating this contamination issue. We just don't want to see that continue into the roadless areas."
The Bush administration proposal opens almost six million acres for logging and mining. Risch is headed to Washington next week and says he hopes to resolve the problem.
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