Sierra Club Celebrates Proection of Last Unspoiled Areas

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 5, 2001



CONTACT: Wendy Balazik, 202-675-2383



SIERRA CLUB CELEBRATES HISTORIC DECISION 

TO PROTECT LAST UNSPOILED NATIONAL FOREST AREAS



WASHINGTON -- Today, the Sierra Club celebrated President

Clinton's announcement of the final decision on a plan that will

protect the last unspoiled areas of our National Forests. 

Protecting these pristine areas completes the largest forest

conservation initiative in generations -- protecting millions of

acres of wild forests from New Hampshire to California.



"Today's announcement is a victory for us all -- for everyone who

has ever walked in a forest, for the millions of us who rely on

our national forests for clean drinking water, and for future

generations," said Carl Pope, the Sierra Club's executive

director.  "By safeguarding unspoiled forests from coast to

coast, President Clinton has achieved the greatest land

protection victory in a generation."



The final plan is an improvement over previous drafts because it

provides real protection to the wild areas of the Tongass

National Forest in Alaska, America's last great temperate

rainforest.  The Forest Service also tightened up a loophole that

would have allowed destructive logging in our wild forests under

the guise of stewardship.



Today's decision marks the end of a multi-year public process

that included more than 600 public meetings and more than one

million public comments.



"Today we congratulate the President for leaving a legacy of wild

forests for all Americans who love to hunt, hike, fish and camp,"

continued Pope.  "Congratulations are also due to the more than

one million people who influenced this decision by sending a

letter or speaking out at the public meetings."



With this rule in place, environmentalists will now turn their

attention to defending the plan.  Timber industry allies in

Congress have already launched an effort to overturn this

historic rule.  The Sierra Club will join with other

conservationists to fight all attempts to delay or reverse the

plan.  Environmentalists will also work at the local level to

ensure that this plan is fully implemented and that our last wild

forests are fully protected.

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CHRONOLOGY OF NATIONAL FOREST ROADLESS AREAS



1891-Congress authorizes President to establish forest reserves

on federal public domain lands in the Creative Act of 1891.



1897-Congress gives the Secretary of Interior broad power to

regulate and protect the forest reserves in the Forest Organic

Act of 1897.



1905-Congress transfers the forest reserves to the Department of

Agriculture in the Transfer Act of 1905.



1907-President Theodore Roosevelt triples the amount of national

forest land from 46 million acres in 1901 to 132 million acres in

1907.



1924-The U.S. Forest Service establishes the Gila Primitive Area

in New Mexico, at the urging of Aldo Leopold.



1926-Forest Service Chief William Greeley directs agency to

inventory all national forest roadless areas. Inventory

identifies 55 million acres of roadless areas between 230,000

acres and 7 million acres in size.



1929-Forest Service issues Regulation L-20 to establish Primitive

Areas to conserve their educational and recreational values.



1933-Forest Service establishes 63 Primitive Areas totaling 8.4

million acres.



1939-Forest Service issues U Regulations to establish Wilderness

and Wild Areas, where roads, logging, and motorized vehicles were

prohibited.



1956-Sen. Hubert Humphrey introduces first Wilderness Bill.



1964-Wilderness Act establishes the National Wilderness

Preservation System and includes 9.1 million acres of Forest

Service Wilderness and Wild Areas in the System.



1967-Forest Service initiates a new roadless area inventory of

all previously unclassified roadless areas larger than 5,000

acres.



1972-Forest Service completes the Roadless Area Review and

Evaluation (RARE), identifying 56 million acres of roadless land

and proposing 12.3 million acres for wilderness study.



1975-Eastern Wilderness Act designates Wilderness Areas in

eastern national forests.



1977-Forest Service begins a second roadless area inventory (RARE

II). 1979-RARE II identifies 62 million acres of roadless land -

nearly one-third of the National Forest System. Forest Service

proposes 15 million acres for wilderness, 10.8 million acres for

further planning, and 36 million acres for non-wilderness

management.



1980-Congress enacts the Alaska National Interest Lands

Conservation Act, designating 5.4 million acres of the Tongass

National Forest as Wilderness.



1982-Decision from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals finds that

RARE II violates the National Environmental Policy Act.  As a

result, the Forest Service adopted regulations requiring EISs for

proposals that would substantially alter the undeveloped

character of an inventoried roadless area of 5,000 acres or more.

 See Forest Service NEPA Handbook 1909.15, Sec. 20.6(3).  This

requirement made it more difficult for land managers to build new

roads into roadless areas due to the greater environmental impact

analysis and public scrutiny involved in the EIS process.



1984-Congress enacts 18  RARE II Wilderness bills, designating

6.6 million acres of national forest Wilderness Areas in 12

Eastern and 6 Western States. 13.6 million acres are released to

normal Forest Service planning and management.



1988-Forest Service builds 2,037 miles of roads, bringing the

total road system to 355,000 miles.



1990-Congress enacts the Tongass Timber Reform Act, designating

300,000 acres of Wilderness in the Tongass National Forest (the

last major addition of national forest land to the Wilderness

System).



1993-President Clinton holds a Forest Conference in Portland,

Oregon, and directs federal agencies to develop the Northwest

Forest Plan to protect spotted owls, salmon, and ancient forests.



1995-Congress adopts the Salvage Rider, temporarily suspending

environmental laws to expedite salvage timber sales.



July 1997-U.S. House of Representatives comes within one vote of

cutting funds for Forest Service road building.



November 14, 1997-President Clinton announces the Forest Service

is developing a scientifically based policy for managing roadless

areas.



December 1997-A group of 169 scientists send a letter to

President Clinton acknowledging the "ecological values associated

with roadless areas" and supporting a policy that "at a minimum,

protect[s] from development all roadless areas larger than 1,000

acres and those smaller areas that have special ecological

significance because of their contributions to regional

landscapes.



January 22, 1998-Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck proposes a

moratorium on new road building in most roadless areas. The

proposed policy exempts national forests with updated management

plans, including the Tongass National Forest in Alaska and 19

forests in the Pacific Northwest.



November 1998-More than 600 conservation organizations and 200

prominent scientists write to Vice President Gore asking for a

strong roadless area protection policy for national forest lands.



March 1, 1999-Forest Service adopts an 18-month moratorium on new

roads in most roadless areas, with virtually the same exemptions

as in the January 1998 proposal.



June 1999-Citing a "holy obligation" to protect God's forests,

more than 300 religious leaders write to President Clinton and

Vice President Gore urging a strong and effective policy to

protect roadless areas.



June 1999-A joint letter from 168 members of Congress is sent to

President Clinton asking for protection of roadless areas in all

national forests from logging, mining and other destructive

activities.



June 1999-More than a quarter million comments in the form of

postcards, letters, and e-mail are delivered to the

Administration expressing support for a strong national forest

roadless area protection policy.



June 1999-A nationwide poll, conducted by the Mellman Group,

reveals that 63 percent of Americans favored a proposal to

protect all national forest roadless areas 1,000 acres and

larger, and 74 percent of voters in the poll supported a plan

that would not exempt any national forests from a roadless

protection policy.



October 1999-President Clinton directs the Forest Service to

initiate an open and public national rule-making to determine how

National Forest roadless areas ought to be managed.



October 1999-Forest Service publishes its Notice of Intent (NOI)

to prepare an environmental impact statement on roadless area

management in federal register and initiates a 60 public comment

period on what the "scope" of the policy ought to be.



December 1999-Scoping period concludes with 400,000 people

sending in written comments.



January 2000-National public survey released by republican

pollster Linda DiVall reveals that 76 percent of Americans

support the Clinton policy to permanently protect roadless areas

from development, including 62 percent of republicans.



January 12, 2000 - TRCA finds that 86% of fishers and 83% of

hunters support roadless area protection.



February 2000-Letter signed by 20 U.S. Senators urges President

Clinton to "protect roadless areas in all national forests,

including the Tongass National Forest, from logging, mining, and

other destructive activities as well as from new roads."



March 2000 - A series of eleven state polls conducted by seven

different pollsters found overwhelming support for protecting

roadless areas in every area of the nation.

TN

STATE	POLLSTER	SUPPORT	OPPOSE
C A	Fairbanks, Masslin and Maulin	72%	22%
CO	Ridder/Braden	75%	20%
ID	Rider/Braden	57%	38%
MI	Mellman Group	69%	23%
MN	The Feldman Group	76%	21$
MT	Fairbanks, Masslin and Maulin	53%	41%
NM	Polling and Research	71%	20%
OR	Ridder/Braden	67%	27%
TN	Mason-Dixon Research	72%	12%
WA	Ridder/Braden	72%	20%
WI	Chamberlain Research Consultants	83%	12%

May 9, 2000 -  Forest Service released it's draft proposal for

the protection of roadless areas.  The "preferred alternative" in

the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) prevents road

construction in currently roadless areas, but allows logging in

those areas.  The draft proposal provides no protection for the

Tongass National Forest in Alaska, the nation's largest.



July 2000-In official comments on the DEIS, the National Marine

Fisheries Service (NMFS) commends the USFS and says the proposed

road prohibition is a "critical step toward maintaining and

enhancing the value of National Forest System lands...." It

raises concerns regarding the exemption of the Tongass National

Forest and recommends that the final policy exclude commercial

logging in roadless areas.



July 2000-Exemplifying the broad public support for strong

roadless area protection, organizations representing women,

recreation enthusiasts, seniors, people with disabilities,

hunters, anglers, the outdoor industry, and others participate in

the official public comment period.



July 17, 2000 - The Forest Service ends public comment period on

draft EIS and receives a record 1.2 million comments from the

public asking for full protection for roadless areas.



July 21, 2000 - More than 2,000 members and leaders of the faith

community write to President Clinton urging a strengthening of

the draft roadless policy by inclusion of the Tongass National

Forest and by prohibiting logging as well as road building in

roadless areas.



August 2000-The Mellman Group releases a national poll that shows

an overwhelming majority of Americans favor prohibiting logging

in national forest roadless areas.



October 11, 2000 - 393 scientists write to President Clinton

endorsing strong protection for the remaining unroaded and

undeveloped portions of national forests in the United States.



November 13, 2000 - U.S. Forest Service releases a

much-strengthened final EIS on the roadless rule making.  The

preferred alternative prohibits commercial logging in roadless

areas and includes the Tongass Rainforest but with a four-year

delay on implementation.



January 5, 2001 - Just before a presidential ceremony, Secretary

Glickman signs the Record of Decision on a final roadless rule

that includes more immediate protection for the Tongass and

strong restrictions on roadless area logging. # # #      

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