Activists encouraged by Risch’s forest plan

BOISE – Some environmentalists who went to Washington, D.C., to fight an Idaho plan to manage 9.3 million acres of roadless forests are striking a more conciliatory note after Gov. Jim Risch said he wants to uphold protections in a 2001 Clinton administration rule.

On Wednesday, Risch defended his 69-page plan before a committee that advises U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns. The panel will review the petition and provide Johanns with a recommendation within 90 days.

Since Risch unveiled the plan to manage Idaho’s roadless forests in September, environmentalists have been crying foul, saying he aims to open up pristine forests that provide valuable wildlife habitat, allowing new roads, logging, mining and motorized recreation.

Now they say Risch’s testimony allayed some of their concerns because he told the 13-member panel his plan more strictly limits development of 3.1 million acres than even the plan drafted by Clinton officials. Risch also said his plan would allow temporary road-building on 5.5 million additional acres only to the extent that it had already been allowed by Clinton officials to boost forest health.

“A lot of the conservation camp came to this meeting prepared for battle because the presumption all along was that Idaho was effectively removing protections for 5.5 million acres of backcountry,” said Chris Wood, of Trout Unlimited. “The governor couldn’t have made it any clearer: Not only does he view it to be in complete conformance with the (Clinton) rule, but in one case, it’s more restrictive.”

The Heritage Forests Campaign is among groups now calling for Risch to put his words in writing in a final pact.

“It would alleviate many of our concerns,” the campaign said Thursday in a statement.

Risch, a forestry major at the University of Idaho in the 1960s, said although he aims to uphold the spirit of Clinton-era protections, his petition addresses a significant problem with the 2001 effort: it was a top-down approach mandated by bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.

Since last year, Idaho has conducted dozens of public meetings on the Risch plan.

“Rather than a one-size-fits-all plan that changes with each new administration, we will now have a path … driven by local input and current uses,” the governor said. “Idahoans … understand the need to maintain the health of these forests to prevent catastrophic wildfires, disease or insect infestation. Reasonable management activity to keep these forests healthy is not something they oppose.”

Risch spokesman Brad Hoaglun said the governor expects to be contacted by the advisory panel in coming weeks to provide additional clarification.

“We want to make sure everything is laid out on the table, so there are no surprises,” Hoaglun said.

Still, some environmental groups remain suspicious.

“If this is indeed how the governor would like to see Idaho roadless forests managed, a written clarification is essential,” said Craig Gehrke of The Wilderness Society, adding his group will continue to fight the Idaho petition because it calls for allowing commercial logging on 500,000 acres. “The 500,000 acres is another example of why roadless areas require protection under a national rule.”

Timber-industry lobbyists such as the Coeur d’Alene-based Intermountain Forest Association support Risch’s plan. They say confusion may have arisen because many people assumed the 2001 rule forbade building any new roads.

In fact, it allows exceptions for road building to protect health and safety “in cases of an imminent threat of flood, fire, or other catastrophic event that, without intervention, would cause the loss of life or property.”

“I don’t think people actually read the Clinton rule,” said association spokeswoman Serena Howarth. “There’s still an awful lot of forested acres in Idaho that need some measure of restoration treatment and fuels reduction. We think it (the plan) is a good thing for forest health.”