Governors diverge on forest plan

BOISE – President George W. Bush’s proposal to change the Clinton-era roadless rule is a welcome change to some, including Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, but other area governors disagree with the plan.

Under the proposal, the 58.5 million acres deemed roadless among the 191 million acres of national forest will be protected from development for another 18 months.

In 2006, each governor may submit a proposal either to continue protecting the roadless land or allow it to be opened to multiple use. The federal government would consider each state petition and then issue a regulation determining the extent of future roadless protection.

The state plan would be permanent unless the federal rule was changed, said James Caswell, former supervisor of the Clearwater National Forest and now director of the Idaho Office of Species Conservation for Kempthorne.

The plan announced in July would allow logging by permitting roads to be constructed in national forests. Governors would have to petition the federal government to block road building.

The rule adopted by the Clinton administration remains under challenge in federal court.

Idaho was one of the first states to go to court to block the Clinton plan, which affected 9.3 million acres in the state, the most in the lower 48 states.

Kempthorne is enthusiastic about the Bush administration’s proposal.

“This is the way federal land management should work,” Kempthorne said in a press release. “Cooperation, not confrontation, should be the hallmark of conservation efforts.”

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat who served as energy secretary in the Clinton administration, said earlier that the Forest Service was “walking away from environmental protection.”

Richardson said he would ask that all 1.1 million acres of roadless land in his state remain protected and planned to urge other western governors to do the same.

Washington Gov. Gary Locke, also a Democrat, also plans to seek continued protection for all roadless areas in his state.

The effect of the rule announcement on the upcoming election is unclear.

“My initial thought would have been they should have held it (until after the election),” Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said during a recent visit to Lewiston.

But he said announcing the rule could help bring Bush supporters to the polls on election day.

“President Bush might have thought he needed to bring it out now and energize his base,” he said.

John McCarthy, conservation director of the Idaho Conservation League at Boise, said, “It’s not a political calculation that is making sense to me. Is it going to help him enough, and where?

“It’s not going to help in Washington or Oregon, I don’t think,” he said.

Chase Davis of the Sierra Club at Spokane said Northwest voters will be thinking about environmental issues in November, as the area’s quality of life hinges on the outdoors.