| Copy of: NEWS RELEASE--Clinton should give public a Xmas present
BLUE RIBBON COALITION, INC. NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
POCATELLO, ID -- Many organizations and user groups have concerns that President Clinton’s roadless directive is seriously flawed and frontloaded. It also asks the American public to sacrifice time with their families during the Christmas season. The Notice of Intent (NOI) has a comment period that ends on Dec. 20, 1999, with a final decision notice to be completed before the next election. There are several other parallel forest planning efforts that are complicating this issue and frustrating the public’s ability to fully participate. A 120 day extension of the comment period on the Roadless NOI will allow recreation groups to understand how the other concurrent planning efforts including the new rules for the National Forest Transportation System, the new policies of the Forest Service Manual, and the new Forest Planning Regulations will mesh with the President’s directive. The October 28, 1999, letter from Forest Service Chief, Mike Dombeck, to all national forests does nothing to reassure the public that this will be a fair process when he authorizes his subordinates to “take whatever executive actions are necessary” to complete the Draft Environmental Impact Statement by late March, 2000. According to Don Amador, the western regional representative for the Blue Ribbon Coalition, “It is obvious that the Forest Service is fast tracking Clinton’s effort to close our forests to the general public. I have seen simple Environmental Assessments to close a short section of trail or to install a new campground take from 2-5 years to complete.” “Dombeck’s ill-conceived directive to fast track this process does not square with reality nor does it best serve the public process. This administration is asking too much of American families by requiring them to digest and comment on numerous concurrent forest planning efforts during the Christmas holiday season,” Amador continued. Amador concludes, “The best Christmas present this administration could give the millions of Americans who value public access to their forested lands is to give us a break during this holiday season by ordering a 120 day extension of the Roadless NOI. Our Coalition members would much rather spend this Christmas season with their families then reading volumes of federal documents and attending meetings,” Amador concludes. |