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Colorado official loses final say on forest rule
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addresses concerns from conservationists that the recently nominated head of the Forest Service would undermine promises from the administration to uphold and defend the Roadless Rule
Nominee Sherman Harris
Harris Sherman won't decide on roadless plan
DENVER - Harris Sherman, Colorado's top natural resources official, is headed to Washington to oversee the U.S. Forest Service, despite hints from the Obama administration that the new regime in Washington is dissatisfied with Colorado's plan for its remote forests.
However, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack intends to personally make the final decision about how to manage roadless areas in Colorado forests, breaking from the practice of the Bush administration, which delegated the job to a deputy with the jawbreaker title of undersecretary of agriculture for natural resources and environment.
Sherman's nomination to that post could have put him in the awkward position of approving the Colorado roadless rule - the same rule he has urged the federal government to adopt as a member of Gov. Bill Ritter's Cabinet.
But in June, Vilsack decided to handle all roadless decisions personally for a year. That extends to the Colorado roadless rule, USDA press secretary Caleb Weaver said this week.
Some conservation groups have criticized Sherman for the proposed Colorado roadless rule, which would allow logging in some remote roadless areas to reduce forest-fire fuels.
The criticism seems to have been heard in Washington. Earlier this summer, Colorado officials were on track to submit their plan to the USDA. But when Vilsack met Ritter in Park City, Utah, he urged Ritter to "go back and work on that rule a little bit," Ritter said in July.
Ritter took that advice and opened the rule for another round of public comment, which expires Oct. 3.
Vilsack has called Ritter's move "very wise." In an August appearance in Denver, Vilsack declined to talk about specifics about the Colorado roadless rule because it hasn't formally arrived on his desk. Last week, his spokesman said the same thing.
But at his August appearance, Vilsack did say he preferred a national standard.
"We are very committed to protecting the roadless areas generally," Vilsack said. "We think there needs to be a national approach to this."
Only Colorado and Idaho have asked for roadless rules specific to their states. When the Bush administration's USDA approved Idaho's rule, it was former Under Secretary of Agriculture Mark Rey who signed the decision. Sherman will take Rey's job later this year, subject to Senate approval. Sherman, through his spokesman at the Department of Natural Resources, declined to comment on his nomination.
Meanwhile, the Colorado roadless rule - now four years in the making - appears to have a long path ahead.
After the public comment period ends, Ritter will review the rule, and state officials hope to submit it to Washington by mid-November, said Theo Stein, spokesman of the Department of Natural Resources.
Forest Service officials are preparing for significant changes. If Colorado changes its rule much, the Forest Service might have to amend its Environmental Impact Statement for Colorado's roadless areas, said Forest Service spokesman Frank Carroll. The work could include another public comment period.
"If we do, that would have to be approved in Washington, and will take time," Carroll said.
Vilsack's dream of a national roadless policy remains in limbo. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California has upheld the Clinton administration's rule, which bans roads on 58 million acres nationwide. But the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver is considering a conflicting ruling from Wyoming that threw out the Clinton rule.
Vilsack has said that unless the courts can straighten it out, the USDA will start all over with a new rule. Sherman, soon to be the USDA official in charge of the Forest Service, presumably would play a large role in drafting the national roadless policy.
"Secretary Vilsack and the president have been very clear on where they stand on the roadless rule. It is our expectation Mr. Sherman would be a part of that," said Weaver, the USDA spokesman.
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