Obama Administration Reevaluates Roadless Rule

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will have to approve any project in roadless areas.

The Obama Administration has taken another “time-out” as it makes its way through the Northwest’s thorny environmental issues.

In recent weeks, federal officials have announced closer looks at plans for southern Oregon forests and for Northwest salmon.

Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that for the next year, logging or road-building projects in areas covered by the Clinton-era “roadless rule” will have to go through his office. The idea is to provide more oversight, and limit the confusion of conflicting Bush-era court decisions.

Steve Pedery with the conservation group, Oregon Wild, says Vilsack’s decision is a good first step.

Steve Pedery: “It’s putting the brakes on a lot of bad ideas that were started under the Bush Administration, but it doesn’t resolve this. The court cases will still roll forward. And really, what we ultimately need to see, if we want to see final closure on these issues, is a national policy that permanently protects these areas.”

Agriculture officials say they’ll work on a more permanent policy approach, over the next year.

The new federal directive does not apply to areas in Idaho, where different rules are already in force.