Feds' proposal for Idaho roadless lands draws some criticism

But the biggest sticking point, critics say, is the way the agency divvies up the remaining 8.7 million acres of roadless land in Idaho, which is second to Alaska in having the most roadless national forest land.

BOISE, Idaho — A government proposal for managing Idaho's 9.3 million acres of roadless land is drawing early criticism from conservationists who claim it diverges significantly from the goals laid out a year ago in a state plan.

The U.S. Forest Service released a draft Environmental Impact Statement on Wednesday. It's the latest step in a contentious process to settle how Idaho's roadless backcountry, pristine national forests and other untouched lands will be managed and preserved or opened to logging, mining and other uses.

The document analyzes the environmental impacts of a series of recommendations submitted to the federal government last year by then-Gov. Jim Risch, now serving as Idaho's lieutenant governor. The Forest Service has also crafted its proposed rule for managing Idaho's 281 distinct and diverse roadless areas.

Under the agency's proposal, about 609,000 acres would be managed as "general forest," a designation that would be open to logging, mining or road building and an amount higher than the 525,000 acres recommended for development in the state plan. Those lands are currently protected under the 2001 Clinton-era roadless rule.

But the biggest sticking point, critics say, is the way the agency divvies up the remaining 8.7 million acres of roadless land in Idaho, which is second to Alaska in having the most roadless national forest land.

The proposal calls for keeping 3.2 million acres protected, but puts another 5.2 million acres under a so-called "backcountry restoration" designation.

Environmentalists say the wording that defines "backcountry restoration" could swing the door wide open to logging and other uses because it allows temporary road building to protect public health and safety "in cases of significant risk or imminent threat of flood, fire or other catastrophic event."

Jonathan Oppenheimer, senior conservation associate with the Idaho Conservation League, says the proposal clearly steps away from the goals contained in the state plan a year ago.

"It appears a lot of Idaho's roadless lands would be managed to a higher level of allowance for development," Oppenheimer said. "The bottom line is we think the existing rules already allow for flexibility to responding to risk issues in Idaho's roadless backcountry."

The state's vast roadless areas now operate under rules proposed in 2001 by the Clinton administration, even though those rules have been - and continue to be - challenged in courts in several western states.

Idaho, under then-Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, was the first to challenge Clinton's plan. The Bush administration in 2005 issued a replacement rule giving states more control. In September 2006, a California federal judge overturned the Bush edict, and Clinton's original rule was reinstated.

Still, Kempthorne accepted the Bush administration's participation offer and began a process, later assumed by Risch, of writing a state management plan for roadless lands.

Risch last year submitted those recommendations, which were accepted in December 2006 by the U.S. Agriculture Department, touching off the environmental review and rulemaking process.

The draft EIS issued this week sets in motion a 90-day public comment period that will include several public meetings across the state. The proposed rule will be published in coming days in the Federal Register.

Risch, who has been working with federal officials in developing the rule, will attend several of those meetings, said David Hensley, legal counsel to Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter. Hensley said Otter has also been involved in the process and endorses the proposal.

Hensley disagreed with critics who say the federal proposal rolls back the state's initial recommendations.

"Part of that may be rhetoric," Hensley said Thursday. "I don't think everyone has had the benefit of seeing the rule to determine whether it's been a departure.

"We've worked really hard since the (state) petition was submitted to capture the spirit and letter of what Gov. Risch proposed," Hensley said.

Although it's early in the public review process, early indications suggest support among mining and timber interests.