BREDL's comments on National Forest Roadless Area Initiative

Dec. 03, 1999

USDA Forest Service-CAET
Attention: Roadless Areas
PO Box 221090
Salt Lake City, UT 84122

cc:Elizabeth Estill
Regional Forester
1720 Peachtree Road NW
Atlanta GA 30309

Comments on the Forest Service Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Roadless Area Protection as published in the October 19, 1999 Federal Register (Vo. 64, pp
56306-56307).

Dear Chief Dombeck:

The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL) strongly supports President Clinton's direction to the Forest Service on October 13, 1999 to provide "strong and lasting protection" for the remaining roadless areas in the national forest system. The October 19, 1999 Notice of Intent (NOI) to initiate public rulemaking and prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on roadless area protection is an important first step towards implementing the President's directive. BREDL supports the permanent protection of all roadless areas 1000 acres and larger from logging, road building, mining, grazing and other destructive activities.

BREDL's comments and concerns include the following:

- Protect roadless areas from all road construction and reconstruction, commercial and non-commercial logging including any other removal of living or dead trees from roadless areas, mining, grazing, and off-road motorized recreation vehicles.

- All inventoried roadless areas should receive immediate protection. Do not defer protection of roadless areas to the forest planning process.

- Protect uninventoried roadless areas greater than 1,000 acres.

- Protect all inventoried roadless areas, including areas identified in the Southern Appalachian Assessment and all others for which inventory data exist. Do not limit immediate, permanent protection to RARE II or forest plan inventoried roadless areas.

- Do not exempt the Tongass National Forest (or any other forest) from the roadless area protection policy. Give immediate protection to Tongass roadless areas; do not defer protection to the forest planning process.  The Tongass contains the world's largest remaining old-growth coastal temperate rainforest reserves.  Since 1992, Congress has spent more than half a billion taxpayer dollars on Tongass timber-related expenses. Protection is needed now!

Thank you for this opportunity to comment.

Sincerely,


Mark E. Barker
Virginia B.O.D. Vice-President
Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
(540) 342-5580