Rocky Barker's blog: Roadless rule resolution may wait for next administration
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. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan's Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of "Hiking Idaho." He also wrote "Beyond the Tetons" and "Backpacking Wyoming's Teton and Washakie Wilderness." He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
3 Responses to Rocky Barker's blog: Roadless rule resolution may wait for next administration
Subscribe to Blog via Email
Join 972 other subscribersRecent Posts
- The Logging Juggernaut June 6, 2023
- New Bison Video From Yellowstone Voices June 5, 2023
- We Lost Jim Bailey–Wild Bison Advocate. May 31, 2023
- Wildfire And California Home Insurance Challenges May 27, 2023
- Grizzlies Get A Win On Upper Green May 26, 2023
Recent Comments
- Jeff on The Logging Juggernaut
- Charles Fox on The Logging Juggernaut
- Maximilian Werner on New Bison Video From Yellowstone Voices
- Steve Kohlmann on We Lost Jim Bailey–Wild Bison Advocate.
- Ida Lupine on We Lost Jim Bailey–Wild Bison Advocate.
- Kevin Bixby on We Lost Jim Bailey–Wild Bison Advocate.
- Lyn McCormick on We Lost Jim Bailey–Wild Bison Advocate.
- Jannett Heckert on We Lost Jim Bailey–Wild Bison Advocate.
- Rick Meis on We Lost Jim Bailey–Wild Bison Advocate.
- Ida Lupine on Save Our Sequoias Act–A Stealth Attack On NEPA, ESA and Our Sequoia Groves
- Mary on Save Our Sequoias Act–A Stealth Attack On NEPA, ESA and Our Sequoia Groves
- Rambling Dave on Wildfire And California Home Insurance Challenges
- Ida Lupine on Wildfire And California Home Insurance Challenges
- Mary on Wildfire And California Home Insurance Challenges
- Jeff Hoffman on Wildfire And California Home Insurance Challenges
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.