The Roadless Push Is On |
| Mother Lode Research
Center: 01/14/98
MLRC predicted as early as 1995 that the "lock it all off" people would try to wipe out all public land uses, (except those they enjoy and make profits from) in one swipe, that of making areas roadless. That push is now on. In 1997 Congress again denied prohibitions being placed on the U.S. Forest Service as to constructing new roads or even maintaining many of the existing ones. The public's representatives had spoken but groups such as the Sierra Club have circumvented Congress and have gotten VP Gore to champion their roadless cause. In a few days the U.S. Forest Service & President Clinton are expected to announce a roadless policy which ostensibly would only apply mainly to roadless areas of 5,000 acres or more (as well as to some smaller areas adjacent to National Parks or other protected lands). The Sierra club and others want the policy to also apply to 1) roadless areas on ALL National Forests should be protected -- don't exclude any forests in the Northwest or Alaska 2) all roadless areas 1000 acres and larger should be protected from logging and road building 3) a moratorium on new roads must prohibit the construction of so-called "temporary" roads They claim such a policy is needed because "erosion and mudslides, damaging fish and wildlife habitat, and polluting water supplies" have been caused by roads in the past. However, a more enlightening reason for their desires may be found in their following statement "To safeguard potential new Wilderness areas". Besides attempting to provide more profitable areas for their hiking safaris MLRC contends there may be a further reason for this action, to cover up their past devastating environmental blunders. For years groups such as the Sierra Club have strongly objected to the removal of dead & dying bug infested trees as well as those in burn areas resulting in millions of acres of public lands standing open to water & wind erosion. Despite the advice of expert foresters and the conclusions of The Sierra Nevada Ecological Project (SNEP) they have ignored the warnings and forged ahead with their own agenda, an agenda which has resulted in serious environmental damage with more predicted to come. (SNEP was heavily supported by such groups as the Sierra Club & now it appears they don't like the findings of the scientific team). The forest ground erosion problem has been further heightened by the failure of the
USFS to quickly re-seed timbered or burned areas. Some have been left The problem of erosion has been well proven to come not from roads or trails, many which have been in existence since the 19th century, but from heavy Winter storms which erode the soil in dead tree areas. (The huge mudslide on the Middle Fork American River, California in early 1997 stands as testament to the above statement. The slide occurred in a burn area and had nothing to do with roads.) It is our contention that to cover up the obvious these groups are setting up yet another smoke screen, that of roads. Public land management agencies such as the USFS will gladly support the roadless idea because it makes management of public lands much easier, no people. Points for you to consider. 1. Roadless areas amount to wilderness areas which means the majority of the American public will not be able to enter them. Thus a wilderness is in place without having to go through the public comment & study scenario required for such designations. 2. Roadless areas will create wild river designations where again the majority of the public will be prohibited from entering. 3. The majority of the public means, RVers, elderly, disabled, families with small children, off-road, hunters, detectorist/collectors, rockhounds, rafters, recreational gold hunters, prospectors, and more. Be honest, if you utilize equipment in your sport how do you use it? How many hunters are in such excellent shape that they can carry their trophy across several thousand acres of roadless areas? Rafters, how do you get your raft to those remote areas? Families, are you prepared to take your young children into regions where there are no roads to gain access to you in case of emergency? 4. A lack of roads has resulted in devastating fire losses on public lands More of the same will increase more of the same. We can't wait centuries for our forests to grow back. 5. A lack of roads will allow bug infestations to run even more out of control with no way to stop them much less remove the infected trees. 6. Both the USFS & BLM have been quietly closing roads for years. The process will now escalate to even greater levels. 7. Roads properly water-barred in the Winter provide excellent protection against any serious erosion problems with side vegetation easily checking erosion. 8. There is no doubt that if these groups get their way they will keep hammering until our public lands become "Kings forests" for use only by the elite, and that elite does not include you. The pot growers & illegal drug labs will love it. You have been consistently warned. If you allow this process to continue your public land use will be done away with in a matter of years. You need to be involved, every member of your organization needs to be involved, every other organization you know needs to get involved, NOW. Contact the following: Phone: Vice-President Gore: 202-456-2326, Erskine Bowles (Clinton's Chief of Staff):
202-456-6798, Katie McGinty (Director of the Council on Environmental Quality):
202-456-6224, White House Comment Line - 202-456-1111, White House Fax Line -
202-456-2461, Clinton's e-mail - |