The environment is apolitical

It’s often said that investing in land is wise because “they’re not making any more of it.” So break out the champagne for the five governors who have now made down payments on preserving some choice public property – the last unprotected wild forests in America.

Both Republicans and Democrats are trying to close the deals, with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger just recently making a bid for one of the biggest chunks available.

While our national forests belong to every American, maintained by taxpayers for the good of all, many people don’t realize that more than half these lands are already open for logging, mining and drilling, and are crisscrossed with enough roads to circle the Earth almost 20 times.

Only one-fifth is permanently protected as wilderness, while the remaining 30 percent of roadless areas is up for grabs.

It wasn’t always like this. Once upon a time, after more than 600 public hearings held by the Forest Service and millions of comments favoring the strongest possible protection, we had a policy of keeping these last pristine areas as part of the next generation’s inheritance.

But then the Bush administration decided to repeal the roadless protection policy and foist the issue of protecting federal lands on the individual states, with the burden falling squarely on the governors of the 38 states that contain roadless sections of national forests.

So far, the chief executives of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Mexico and California – two Republicans and three Democrats – have completed the voluminous required paperwork and put in their offers. And all asked, resoundingly, for protection of all roadless areas within their respective states.

These governors don’t need to hire a home inspector to understand good property when they see it.

Nearby recreation? Roadless areas offer spectacular opportunities for some of the best hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, canoeing and bird watching in the country.

Good utilities? Roadless areas provide sources of pure drinking water for 60 million Americans.

Animals are welcome and the grounds are breathtaking. Roadless areas shelter rare and beautiful plants and animals galore.

Ah, but is there a high fence and a big “Keep Out” sign for the general public? Nope. The only people not admitted are commercial developers. How about the fire department? No problem; the original rule contained an exception for fighting fires and so will state rules.

As with every property, maintenance is a big issue, especially when it comes to roads. It costs the Forest Service far more to build and maintain roads than it will ever recover through timber sales. The agency already carries a $10 billion maintenance backlog for the 450,000 miles of roads it has built.

So, the five governors are smart about wanting wild forests left as they are. Keeping roads out of roadless areas will reduce taxpayers’ overhead.

Unfortunately, however, the current handful of deals haven’t closed yet. Everything to this date could amount to no more than the first offer in a negotiation.

Every petition to keep development out of roadless areas must be run by Mark Rey, a former timber industry lobbyist and now Undersecretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment. And you thought your loan officers were tough!

If Rey approves the deal, the secretary of agriculture gets to weigh in. So far, the offers made by Virginia and the Carolinas have entered the detailed negotiation phase. California’s offer still sits in Rey’s inbox, however.

Some governors, pressured by commercial interests, might say they aren’t buying into the notion of protecting all their national forests, which could mean problems in the neighborhood. Decisions are due soon from a number of governors and time is running out for laggards.

Preserving all the roadless areas in our national forests is the best deal Americans will find on any real estate market anywhere. It shows, once again, the absurdity of believing that the environment is a partisan issue.

Conservation is conservative.

As for the last unspoiled areas in our forests, we don’t even have to fix them up to show off their good points. They come ready for use.