Governor Kulongoski and Attorney General Kroger today joined with other Western states in calling on the Obama administration to drop the Bush initiated appeals of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.

The letter continues a long history of Oregon leading the charge to defend the rule.  It reads:

June 16, 2009

The Honorable Tom Vi1sack, Secretary
US Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20250

Re: California, Oregon, Washington,et al. v. USDA
      (Forest Service Road1essRule Litigation)
      US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Case No.
      07-15613/07-15614/07-15695

Dear Secretary Vilsack:

The State of Oregon welcomed President Obama's campaign support for the Roadless Rule, and we were encouraged to see the attention to the issue shown by your announcement last week. Nevertheless, we do not agree that you should defer a decision so that the "relevant court cases" mentioned in your announcement can continue to work their way through the courts.  Instead, we join other Western states in asking you to reconsider the litigation position being pursued by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and to withdraw the USDA's appeal in the Road1essRule Litigation identified above.

In January 2001, President Clinton adopted the Roadless Rule. The Roadless Rule essentially prohibited road construction, reconstruction, and timber harvesting, subject to certain limited exceptions, in Inventoried Roadless Areas. The Roadless Rule resulted from a lengthy process, with substantial public involvement and careful environmental analysis. The State of Oregon strongly supports the Roadless Rule, which protects many of the remaining wild places in this state.

Before the Roadless Rule could take effect, the incoming Bush Administration issued a moratorium on all regulations from the prior administration that had not yet been implemented, including the Roadless Rule. In its place, a new rule was subsequently adopted, but without the required environmental analysis. In California v. USDA, four western states, including Oregon, sued the USDA to protect roadless areas in our national forests. The federal district court set aside the improper replacement rule and reinstated the Roadless Rule. Although the district court decision is well-reasoned and correct, the USDA appealed.

The appeal seeks again to disrupt the well-designed plan created by the Roadless Rule.

We urge the USDA and the Forest Service to withdraw their appeal in futile defense of the ill-considered replacement rule, so that the Roadless Rule may continue to protect roadless areas without further disruption.

Sincerely,

THEODORE R. KULONGOSKI
Governor

JOHN R. KROGER
Attorney General