By The Daily News Staff
& The Associated Press
December 3, 1999

CRANDON, Wis. - TENSIONS COULD RUN HIGH NEXT WEEK AT HEARINGS on a plan that could ban logging and roadbuilding on about 74,000 acres in two national forests in Wisconsin, a U.S. Forest Service official says.

THE HEARINGS - Monday in Crandon and Tuesday in Park Falls - ARE THE FIRST STEP IN WHAT A CRITIC CALLED THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION'S PLAN TO CREATE "PSEUDO WILDERNESS AREAS" IN THE NICOLET AND CHEQUAMEGON NATIONAL FORESTS IN WISCONSIN AND ELSEWHERE.

Opponents to the plan say BANNING ACTIVITIES on the lands could harm some rural communi- ties in Wisconsin that depend on access to the forest for the timber products industry and FOR RECRE- ATIONAL USES.

ENVIRONMENTALISTS CONTEND MORE MUST BE DONE TO PROTECT FOREST LAND.

I suspect there will be strong opinions voiced from a variety of standpoints on this," Paul Strong, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service in Rhinelander said Thursday.

Nadine Bailey, president of the Rhinelander-based Timber Producers Association of Michi- gan and Wisconsin, chalked up the hearings to "SMOKE AND MIRRORS" TO MAKE PEOPLE THINK THEY ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE PROCESS."

"This is on a fast track," Bailey said. "This is probably 100 percent about politics and very little about good forestry."

The U.S. Forest Service was directed in October to add "protections" to what are called "inventoried roadless areas" on national forests, Strong said.

Of the 1.6 million acres that comprise the Nicolet and Chequamegon forests, about 74,000 acres are in that category in addition to the 44,000 acre's of designated wilderness, he said.

Across the country, national forests have about 40 MILLION ACRES DESIGNATED AS ROADLESS AREAS, he said.

These lands for the most part had few developed areas or roads but had no restrictions on the use of them either, Strong said. In Wisconsin; some may have been logged before and had low main- tenance roads built on them," he said. "That is an analysis we have to do."

Before making recommendations on what should be done to further protect the lands through administrative regulations, the agency is asking the public to comment on the different alterna- tives, he said.

Similar public meetings are being held for National Forests across the nation. The Ottawa National Forest in the western Upper Peninsula will conduct two meetings on Dec. 13 in Ewen at the Ewen Town hall. The meetings are scheduled for 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (Eastern time).

MEETINGS HAVE ALREADY BEEN HELD ACROSS THE COUNTRY, PRIMARILY IN URBAN AREAS. These local meetings are being held to allow rural. residents near the forests to have an opportunity to comment.

The public has until Dec. 20 to comment on the proposal. individuals unable to attend the meetings may send their com- ments to:

USDA Forest Service, Attn: Roadless
P.O. Box 221090
Salt Lake City, Utah 84122

Strong said CLINTON'S INITIATIVE WOULD, IN ESSENCE, CREATE NEW WILDERNESS AREAS.

"You would have something reasonably similar to a wilderness area if all management activities were prohibited in there," Strong said.

The Forest Service hopes to have its recommendations in a draft environmental impact statement by March with approval expected by November, Strong said.

There are now 11,000 miles of roads on the national forests in Wisconsin, Strong said.