Congress Seeks to Strengthen Roadless Rule

Most of Oregon's delegation steps up to cosponsor legislation to codify the popular 2001 Roadless Rule

PORTLAND, Ore. - Almost 200 members of Congress, including four from Oregon, are cosponsoring new legislation to give permanent protection to the nation's roadless areas. The Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2009, introduced Thursday, would reinforce the 2001 Roadless Rule, which has faced almost constant court challenges since it went into effect.

Steve Pedery, conservation director for Oregon Wild, says the Obama administration has sent mixed messages about its commitment to keeping these areas roadless, but the bill would guarantee protection, no matter who's in the White House.

"We view this legislation as hedging our bets. Under the Bush administration, we saw an endless effort to get around the 2001 Roadless Rule. I think what folks are moving toward is seeking a permanent solution to this."

With two million acres of roadless national forest land, Oregon has been "ground zero" for this debate, according to Pedery. The most recent controversy here in Oregon was a timber sale in the Umpqua National Forest just north of Crater Lake National Park that included logging almost 1,000 acres of roadless areas.

"These are the most-remote areas of the backcountry when you think about the national forests. Generally, there's a reason they're still remote and in the backcountry. It tends to be some of the best habitat we have left for elk, deer, salmon, and other rare species."

The bill would permanently protect more than 58 million roadless acres, and allow recreation, such as camping and hunting. Critics say it would "lock up" natural resources, which could otherwise be recovered with low-intrusive technologies, and which could help decrease the country's dependence on foreign sources of energy.

Oregon cosponsors of the bill are Sen. Merkley and Reps. Blumenauer, DeFazio and Wu.