Utah Environmental Congress:
In The News

Huntsman sees no need for petition; greens say inaction could doom forests
By Joe Baird
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
 

The future of Utah's roadless forests is firmly in the hands of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. following last month's repeal of the Clinton-era Roadless Rule by the Bush administration.
   Now, the question is, what does he intend to do?
   The U.S. Department of Agriculture on May 5 lifted restrictions implemented by the Clinton administration that essentially put the nation's nearly 59 million acres of inventoried roadless forest off-limits to timber sales and energy exploration. Under the new Bush policy, state governors have been given 18 months to submit petitions to the federal government asking for the continued protection of roadless areas.
   Huntsman says he doubts there will be any major alterations in the status of Utah's 4 million acres of roadless area, beyond addressing access issues associated with wildfires.
   "I've talked to a limited extent with the Department of Agriculture on where we are and don't think we need a change right now," he said last week.
   But Huntsman also has no plans to submit a petition to protect Utah's roadless areas. Lynn Stevens, the governor's new public lands policy coordinator, says the state intends to let the Forest Service take the lead on the roadless issue through its forest management plan revision process under way in four of Utah's six national forests.
   "If their management plans meet the requirements of the state, we may not need to have a petition," said Stevens. "Generally speaking, we are just at the beginning point, but we think most of the state's needs can be met through this process."
   Forest Service spokeswoman Erin O'Connor says her agency "is willing to work closely with the governors to help design an approach that will meet their needs while minimizing impacts on both the states and the Forest Service."
   Environmental groups, however, argue that a hands-off policy, in this case, amounts to bad news for Utah's undeveloped forests.
   In their view, Huntsman's disinclination to take formal action to preserve roadless areas - about half of Utah's total forest acreage overall and the sixth-largest swath of roadless area nationally - is an invitation to the eventual plundering of what are now nearly pristine areas.
   "It sounds to us like they're going to come up with something that amounts to minimal protection," said Kevin Mueller, an attorney with the Utah Environmental Congress. "The fewer areas that are petitioned and included for protection, the quicker and easier the process will be. The less roadless areas, the less hassle."
   Approaches toward dealing with the new Bush rules have varied throughout the West.
   California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he has cut a deal with the Forest Service to preserve that state's roadless areas. Colorado Gov. Bill Owens, meanwhile, has called for the creation of a statewide task force that will hold public hearings and make recommendations in shaping a petition.
   And there have been more than a few complaints about the costs that could be associated with the new policy. Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer argues that his state cannot afford the $9 million he estimates will be necessary to analyze Montana's roadless areas before submitting a petition.
   "The Forest Service has been trying to resolve this issue for upwards of 30 years with little or no success," Schweitzer said in a letter to Bush last week. "Now your administration, without the benefit of public hearings, has issued a final rule that asks the states to shoulder this burden both administratively and financially."
   Other states, such as Utah, Idaho and Wyoming, which filed suit against the Clinton Roadless Rule and won a 2003 injunction halting its implementation, have welcomed the change.
   Still, Stevens, Huntsman public lands coordinator, says that doesn't mean logging, mining and gas and oil companies are banging down the door seeking entry into Utah's last untrammeled forests.
   "We've had no overtures from any industry with regards to greater access," he said. "The new rule has only been out [just over a month], so that may not be too surprising. But some might also surmise that companies might have shown up the next day, and that has just not occurred."
   Said Huntsman: "I haven't given any consideration to the mining or logging aspect."
   And at least one timber industry official doubts that the state's roadless areas will ever be opened up, given the economic and regulatory obstacles that must be overcome.
   "I don't think we'll see much of a change. We're not even utilizing the existing roads," said Stephen Steed, co-owner of the Escalante-based Skyline Forest Resources. "I think we might see some of the older access roads refurbished, but I don't think there's a snowball's chance we'll see new roads built. If people think the timber industry is going to go out and build all these new roads, they're being misled. It's a lot of hype."
   But conservationists say they aren't about to let their guard down.
   Mueller, of the Utah Environmental Congress, says the bottom line is that the new Bush rules strip current roadless areas of legal protection - meaning that even if development doesn't happen tomorrow or the next day, it's entirely possible down the line.
   Even governors' petitions, he adds, won't change that. The Department of Agriculture is free to reject them in whole or part if deemed at odds with administration policy. And once state petitions are implemented, Mueller said, "it's still a promise that can be broken."
   With no petition currently being contemplated by Huntsman, environmentalists say they fear the possibilities.
   "It's worrisome because the management approaches [in Utah's national forests change] all the time, so they're vulnerable to all kinds of threats," said Lisa Smith, executive director of Save Our Canyons.
   "You would hope the governor would see that. But unfortunately, we're in a time when nothing is impossible when it comes to public lands issues. This could really open up Pandora's box."
   jbaird@sltrib.com
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    The Associated Press contributed to this story.