WASHINGTON, DC -- Today before a hearing of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Idaho Senator Larry Craig condemned the18-month Road Moratorium, recently announced by the Forest Service, and during questioning, Department of Agriculture Under Secretary Jim Lyons admitted that "tank traps" do exist and apologized for a statement he made to the contrary earlier this week.

Craig provided Lyons with a framed picture of a "tank trap" in the Targhee National Forest with a personal note stating, "Jim, Sometimes the right hand needs to know what the left hand is doing."

Craig told Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck and his colleagues that he was very frustrated that they could not put their heads together to provide a long-term transportation plan to manage the Forest Service transportation system in a fashion sensitive to the public's desire for access to the nation's forests.

"The road moratorium in effect is a plan to stop all activities in the National Forest," Craig said. "It will cause communities to wither, people to lose jobs, and the environment to deteriorate. If this is the legacy you want to leave then so be it."

Many issues including Douglas Fir Beatle infestation in Northern Idaho and the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Plan were discussed at the hearing as well.

Further hearings on the Forest Service's proposed budget will be held in March before the Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management which is chaired be Senator Craig. Forest Chief Mike Dombeck has agreed to appear for further questioning at that time.