FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Court Reaffirms Roadless Protections in Oregon, Across the West

Questions still linger over future of roadless timber sale in Umpqua National Forest

Will the near complete reinstatement of the Roadless Rule mean a stop to logging on the doorstep of Crater Lake?

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld protections for nearly 2 million acres of pristine Oregon forests, dealing yet another rebuke to the prior presidential administration’s efforts to undermine the 2001 Roadless Rule. The ruling effectively safeguards almost 40 million acres in the National Forest system from logging, harmful road building, and destructive development.

“Oregonians know how valuable our roadless forests are,” said Steve Pedery, Conservation Director at Oregon Wild, one of the plaintiffs in the case. “When the original Roadless Rule was put in place, we came out in greater numbers than any other state to advocate for protecting these beautiful lands. This decision further affirms the wishes of the public.”

The fate of the Roadless Rule has been caught up in the federal courts and the politics of changing Presidents for almost a decade. It was originally adopted by the Clinton administration in 2001 after careful scientific and environmental review, as well as the most extensive public involvement process in the history of federal rulemaking. The Bush administration attempted to repeal the rule and open up roadless wildlands across the nation to logging and other development. Today’s decision reverses a weakened roadless policy promulgated by the Bush administration.

It remains to be seen how today’s ruling will impact projects currently planned in Oregon’s roadless forests. A massive timber sale project on the doorstep of Crater Lake National Park is currently in the planning process. The proposed sale includes almost 1,000 acres of logging in roadless forests and nationally designated recreation areas, a total of 25 miles of road building, and the conversion of the area’s only dedicated skiing trail to a logging road.

“What the Forest Service is proposing on the doorstep of Crater Lake National Park is harmful, unnecessary, and illegal,” summed up Oregon Wild’s Doug Heiken who toured the proposed project in May. “The ruling today backs that up.”

Roadless area protection has enjoyed tremendous public support over the years. The term “roadless area” is shorthand for pristine lands within America’s National Forests. These lands provide some of the best fish and wildlife habitat left in the nation as well as clean, safe sources of drinking water to dozens of communities. The 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule protects these lands from logging and development, while ensuring they remain open to traditional outdoor recreation activities such as camping, hiking, fishing, and hunting. The Roadless Rule has been strongly supported by America’s outdoor recreation industry, from giants like The North Face and REI to local Oregon businesses such as Keen Footwear and Clackacraft Drift Boats.

Prior to today’s ruling, the Obama administration had taken several small steps towards re-instating roadless protections. In May, an order from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack required all projects in the nation’s inventoried roadless areas to come to his desk for review. Vilsack’s order has been called a “time-out” on roadless development while the courts, Congress, and President Obama determine what course roadless policy will take. The Ninth Circuit ruling fills in one piece of the puzzle, and may free up the opportunity for President Obama and Congress to push for more permanent protections for America’s roadless backcountry.

“While the court ruling is a victory for conservationists and Americans who enjoy outdoor recreation, it does not resolve the question of how to permanently protect our last roadless wildlands,” added Pedery. “Congress should step in and pass legislation to permanently protect these areas as a haven for fish and wildlife and traditional outdoor recreation.”

In the challenge to the Roadless Rule, Oregon Wild joined 19 conservation groups represented by Earthjustice.

Read the final Ninth Circuit opinion by Judge Robert Beezer.

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