Rocky Barker’s blog: Roadless rule resolution may wait for next administration. Rocky Barker. Idaho Statesman.
Barkers writes about the latest chapter in the struggle over national forest roadless areas. This is a battle that has been going on since the early 1970s, but especially since President Bill Clinton gave an executive order to protect all remaining roadless areas over 5000 acres in size on the national forests and President Bush replaced it with a much less protective rule.
Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is past President of the Western Watersheds Project and the creator of The Wildlife News.
Is Rocky suggesting that the Idaho roadless plan is acceptable?
Seems that he is, which is unfortunate, because the real trouble with the “exceptions” in the original Roadless Rule is that they give too much credence to the old tired argument that roads might be needed to protect against fire. Roads, of course, actually dry out the forest and introduce invasive species.
This is not to suggest that there shouldn’t be provisions for discretionary management decisions, but that those provisions should give better guidance.
This reminds me once more that I need to mail off the Letter to the Editor I recently wrote pertaining to this issue.
The roadless articles coming from Barker’s columns seem anti-roadless.