WYO Roadless Areas Turn Ten
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Cheyenne, WY – Ten years, more than a million comments and several lawsuits: It's a long history for the "Roadless Rule," which was first proposed a decade ago today. The rule protects more than 3 million acres of National Forest land in Wyoming from development.
Mike Dombeck, the Forest Service chief at the time, helped come up with the idea. He says the initial goal of the moratorium on new roads in national forests was to save money, because whenever roads are built there are maintenance costs. But he says the policy seemed to strike a chord with the people of Wyoming.
"The bottom line is they care about these: the best-quality hunting and fishing, the highest water quality, remaining habitats for many rare and endangered species."
More than 1.6 million people have commented on the rule nationwide, and a Forest Service tally shows 95 percent supported keeping the backcountry free of development.
Opponents say setting forest land off-limits hurts some local economies that depend on timber, mining, and oil and gas drilling. The rule is still being challenged in court, but so far has survived unscathed.
Dombeck says there should be careful consideration of any road-building in national forests.
"The thing about building a road is it's usually forever. It's one of the most indelible marks that we make on the land and very, very difficult to turn the clock back."
More information about the "Roadless Rule" is found at www.tws.org
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