Copyright 2000 Phoenix Newspapers, Inc.
THE ARIZONA
REPUBLIC
February 18, 2000 Friday, Final
SECTION: SCOTTSDALE/FOOTHILLS COMMUNITY; Pg. 12
LENGTH: 612 words
HEADLINE:
ROADLESS AREAS HAVE SUPPORT OF SPORTSMEN
BYLINE: By DeWayne Smith, Republic correspondent
BODY:
The U.S. Forest Service is embarking on a
program to implement new rules for managing up to 60 million acres of
roadless areas under its jurisdiction. Initial public comment
has been received and another public comment period will be offered before final
proposals are made this winter.
At this juncture, nobody knows how much
of an impact new regulations will have on the way the public uses these areas
until the proposals are finalized. But in light of other programs begun by the
Forest Service -- fee demonstration areas come to mind -- you can bet whatever
is being considered in the way of changes will have an effect on the users. The
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Alliance, a Minneapolis-based association of
conservation groups and individuals supported by Pew Charitable Trusts, has
gotten a leg up on the Forest Service's program by attempting to find out just
what the nation's hunters and fishermen think of roadless areas in general.
Bob Munson, TRCA director, said the polling firm Responsive Management
of Harrisonburg, Va., which specializes in natural resource and outdoor
recreation issues, was hired to poll 600 licensed hunters and fishers about
their feelings regarding roadless areas and their access.
In a nutshell,
the survey showed that the vast majority of America's 50 million hunters and
anglers want existing roadless areas in national forests to remain that way --
roadless.
However, they also want those areas to remain open for
controlled hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation. The numbers tell the
story as 86 percent of anglers and 83 percent of hunters want to keep the areas
free of roads. In addition, 92 percent of hunters stated that hunting is an
important value of the national forests, and 89 percent of anglers ranked
fishing as an important value.
"The fact that hunters and anglers desire
to protect wild country and have access to these areas is not contradictory,"
Munson said. "Experiences in such areas are the gold standard by which the best
hunting and fishing experiences are judged. The roads debate provides the
opportunity for hunters and anglers to champion the value of remote areas, and
our right to retain access to these areas."
According to the survey,
hunters and anglers also place a high value on national forests for protecting
water quality, providing habitat for endangered species, providing places of
solitude and natural experiences, and providing hunting and fishing
opportunities with few roads and few people.
"This survey provides a
snapshot of hunter and angler opinion at the beginning of the National Forest
roads dialogue, a dialogue that is all the more timely because of the
dramatically rising use of national forests by sportsmen and women," Munson
said. "Hunters and anglers have an enormous stake in Forest Service road
management. The findings of this survey show a large degree of support among
hunters and anglers for preserving the quality of fish and wildlife habitat in
the national forests, and for maintaining access."
TRCA released its
survey results in January, the 95th anniversary of the first American Forest
Congress where President Theodore Roosevelt said of the then infant national
forests system, 'We want the active and zealous help of every man far-sighted
enough to realize the importance from the standpoint of the nation's welfare in
the future of preserving forests . . . The forest is for use, and its users will
decide its future."
According to Munson, the TRCA operates with the
sanction of the Roosevelt family to help revive conservation activism by
sportsmen and women.
For more information on the TRCA, call
1-877-770-TRCA.
COLUMN: OUTDOORS
LOAD-DATE: March 21, 2000 
