Copyright 2000 P.G. Publishing Co.
Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette
June 20, 2000, Tuesday, SOONER EDITION
SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. B-6
LENGTH: 632 words
HEADLINE:
FOREST ROAD BAN SOUNDS GOOD TO THEM;
DEMONSTRATORS SEEK SUPPORT AT HEARING
TODAY
BYLINE: DON HOPEY, POST-GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
BODY:
If the honking horns in Downtown
Pittsburgh's Market Square yesterday morning were any indication, a significant
segment of the public supports a federal proposal to protect at least 40 million
acres of roadless areas in America's national forests.
The horns sounded steadily in response to placards held by members of
the Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group and the Allegheny Defense
Project during a two-hour demonstration supporting the Clinton administration's
roadless area proposal, made last October.
The U.S.
Forest Service will hold a public hearing on the Roadless Area
Conservation Rule and a draft environmental impact study from 6 to 9 p.m. today
at the Sheffield Fire Hall, on Route 948 in Sheffield, Warren County. Public
hearings are also being held at other national forests around the country. "We'd
like people to honk their support here, then send postcards, sign petitions and
come to the hearing tomorrow and comment on this proposal," said David Weiner,
the research group's co-director.
But the high-decibel support exhibited
for the roadless proposal yesterday has been matched by opposition from timber
and paper industries, communities and school districts located near the forests,
and political leaders in many Western states, where it is expected to have the
most impact.
The conservation rule, issued in May, would restrict the
construction of new roads in any remaining roadless portions of the nation's
forests identified in a 1979 inventory. It would also require each forest's
management to evaluate how to protect the roadless areas as part of the regular
forest planning process.
According to the Forest Service, the roadless
proposal was made in response to strong public sentiment for protecting wild
areas, clean water sources, biological diversity, recreational opportunities,
wildlife habitat and forest health.
On the 513,000-acre Allegheny
National Forest, which sprawls over portions of Elk, Forest, McKean and Warren
counties, the proposed roadless protections would affect roughly 24,773 acres --
less than 10 percent of the total area.
Forest Service roads are already
prohibited on 95 percent of those acres because of existing provisions of the
Allegheny's Forest Plan and other legal restrictions.
"If the proposed
rule is adopted," said Dale Dunshie, an Allegheny National Forest spokesman, "it
could add another layer of authority that would help keep the areas roadless."
The Allegheny Forest Alliance, an organization of timber industries,
school districts and municipalities located near the Allegheny National Forest,
opposes the roadless rule, saying it will prevent the forest service from
fighting insect infestations and other tree health problems, will hamper fire
suppression efforts, and will compromise public safety by reducing road
maintenance and construction.
The nation's 155 forests cover 192 million
acres. Of that acreage, 50 percent has already been logged at one time or
another and 18 percent is already protected by wilderness designations.
Environmental groups say the remaining 30 percent -- about 60 million
acres -- is at risk from logging, mining, or oil or gas drilling, and should
receive roadless protections.
The proposed rule would omit 20 million
acres of that total, primarily by limiting the protection to areas of 5,000
acres or more.
The federal comment period on the draft roadless rule and
environmental impact statement runs until July 17. In addition to the oral and
written comments at tomorrow's hearing, the Forest Service is accepting comments
faxed to (877) 703-2494, or mailed to USDA Forest Service-CAET, Attention:
Roadless Area Proposed Rule, PO Box 221090, Salt Lake City, UT 84122; or by
e-mail to the Web site www.roadless.fs.fed.us.
LOAD-DATE: June 20, 2000 
