10 Circuit Court Upholds Roadless Rule
I’m Susan Allen reporting for Open Range Radio. We’ve seen the handy work of the 9th Circuit court of appeals in the Northwest when it comes to our waterways and salmon, stay tuned to hear about another environmental victory in our western wilderness this time in the 10th Circuit . Remember the Clinton rule, the one that raised the hackles of the outdoor and timber communities when it barred new road-building on millions of acres of national forest land. Well earlier this month the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit upheld what has become known as the “roadless rule”. Environmental groups are certainly counting coup but interestingly so are some hunting and fishing organizations. Joel Webster of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership was quoted in a Montana newspaper about the court’s decision, he said and I quote “ I think this is a really big deal with Montana's general rifle season just opening on Saturday," there were a lot of folks headed to the woods, and the places where they parked their trucks and walked in are roadless areas. Our five-week elk season is dependent on providing these roadless areas." Webster also stated that the roadless rule is not a “lock them out decision” . Good /bad , well you make the call, as it now stands the roadless rule prohibits road construction and timber cutting in 58.5 million acres of inventoried roadless areas, covering s about 30 percent of the national forest system.
