GLICKMAN PROPOSES NATIONAL STRATEGY TO PROTECT ROADLESS AREAS IN
NATIONAL
FORESTS
                                           Release No. 0154.00 
                                                               
                                    Susan McAvoy (202) 720-4623
                                          Susan.McAvoy@usda.gov
                                   Keven Kennedy (202) 720-7173
                                         Keven.Kennedy@usda.gov


GLICKMAN PROPOSES NATIONAL STRATEGY TO PROTECT ROADLESS AREAS IN
NATIONAL
FORESTS

     WASHINGTON, May 9, 2000 -Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today
proposed banning new road building on more than 43 million acres of roadless
areas in America's national forests.  The proposal, which follows an extensive
public input process, would also require local U.S. Forest Service managers to
consider additional protections for roadless areas in the future.  In October,
President Clinton directed Secretary Glickman to formulate a plan to protect
roadless areas.

     Roadless areas on national forests represent some of the last large
expanses of pristine wildlands in the United States.  They are critical to
preserving wildlife and clean drinking water supplies, and provide
unparalleled recreational opportunities for hikers, campers, hunters, and
others.  Today's proposal would protect roadless areas and ensure continued
public access to them. 

     "This proposal would safeguard some of America's last and best pristine
land," said Secretary Glickman.  "As we lose more and more open space to
sprawl and development, Americans increasingly turn to our national forests to
experience and enjoy our shared natural landscape.  Preventing roadbuilding in
these areas is an essential step toward preserving and protecting these
wildlands for the future."  

     The ban on road building would apply to unroaded lands that the Forest
Service has already inventoried and identified as roadless areas.  These are
typically large parcels of land that do not contain roads because of their
rugged terrain or environmental sensitivity. The proposal would also require
the Forest Service to consider additional protections for these areas and
other smaller areas in the future through existing local forest planning
procedures.  

     On the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, where a newly adopted
management plan restricts or prohibits road construction on much of the land,
today's proposal would postpone a decision on additional protection for
roadless areas until 2004.  

     While a ban on new road building would significantly reduce future
timber harvests in roadless areas, the impact on the nation's overall timber
supply would be negligible.  National forests provide approximately five
percent of the nation's timber, and, under current plans, only five percent of
projected timber harvests on national forests would come from roadless areas. 

  Today's proposal is contained in a draft environmental impact statement
that also analyzes a range of alternative actions -- from no additional
protection to a complete ban on road building and timber harvest in all
inventoried roadless areas on all national forests.  

  Secretary Glickman's announcement continues an open and public process. 
Already, the Forest Service has conducted more than 180 public meetings and
collected 365,000 public comments on this issue.  Public comments on today's
proposal will be accepted until July 17, 2000.  A final rule is expected by
the end of the year.

  "Forest Service employees and I are committed to continue working with
the public and listening to their input on this historic proposal," said
Glickman.  "Public comments in the coming weeks will be absolutely critical as
we craft a final policy that balances national and local interests and
adequately protects roadless areas for present and future generations."
                                 
  The Forest Service will conduct an aggressive public outreach campaign
on the roadless proposal.  There will be at least two public meetings on every
national forest   one to explain the proposal and other policy alternatives
that under consideration and one to solicit additional comments from
interested citizens.  In addition, the proposal and related public documents
will be accessible at every Forest Service office and most municipal and
county libraries.  The public can also access materials relating to the
roadless proposal, including maps, on the web at http://roadless.fs.fed.us.

  Glickman thanked Jim Lyons, USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources
and the Environment, and Mike Dombeck, Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, for
their leadership in crafting the proposal announced today.
                 
                                
                                
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