http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,...634379,00.html

Article Published: Tuesday, September 16, 2003
Federal 'roadless' policy officially ends
Forest Service chief: Decision changes little

By Steve Raabe
Denver Post Business Writer
The head of the U.S. Forest Service expects no immediate impact from a
government decision upholding a court ruling that lifted a ban on
road-building in a third of America's national forests.
The Justice Department's decision not to appeal U.S. District Judge
Clarence Brimmer's ruling on the so-called roadless policy was
welcomed Monday by industry groups and left environmentalists
grumbling.

The government let pass a Friday deadline for appealing Brimmer's
decision, which negated a ruling from the final days of the Clinton
administration that banned building of new roads on 58.5 million acres
of remote forest land controlled by the Forest Service.

The Clinton policy limited timber harvesting, mining and drilling for
oil and gas on the national forest lands.


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In an interview Monday in Denver, Forest Service chief Dale Bosworth
said his agency still supports the idea of roadless areas and said the
decision not to appeal Brimmer's ruling will have no immediate impact
on national forests.

"It's not that much of an issue because we're not going to be going
out and building roads in roadless areas," Bosworth said. "I believe
we should be protecting roadless values."

But environmental groups said they're not convinced.

"They give lip service to protecting roadless areas but their actions,
particularly failing to defend (roadless policies) in court, speak
otherwise," said Tiernan Sittenfeld of Environment Colorado.

Brimmer, who is based in Cheyenne, ruled this year that the Clinton
road ban was a "thinly veiled attempt to designate 'wilderness areas'
in violation of the clear and unambiguous process established by the
Wilderness Act."

Environmental groups subsequently accused Brimmer of conflict of
interest because he owns stock in several oil and gas companies that
might benefit from easier access to drilling.

Brimmer has acknowledged in a statement that he owns energy stocks,
but said none of the companies are parties to his ruling.

Greg Schnacke of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association said Monday that
Brimmer's ruling was correct because the roadless policy was made
hastily and without adequate scientific or geologic information.

Several environmental groups, including the Wilderness Society, Sierra
Club and Wyoming Outdoor Council, have appealed the Brimmer ruling to
the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The court has not yet taken any action on the appeal.