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Montage of Wing Point in Bainbridge Island and the Edmonds Ferry.

Jay Inslee: Washington's 1st Congressional District

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Inslee Praises Wide Support for Roadless Amendment

18 July 2003

U.S. Reps. Jay Inslee, Jim Davis, and Ellen Tauscher introduced an amendment yesterday to the Interior Appropriations bill that would have preserved the Roadless Area Conservation Rule through FY2004. The administration has recently announced its intention to exempt the Tongass and Chugach National Forests from the rule and allow Governors to make management decisions on federal lands. The Inslee amendment, which late last night received 185 votes, twenty of which were cast by Republicans, would have prohibited the administration from pursuing these changes. Inslee’s statement and amendment are below:

“I am enthusiastic the Roadless Forest amendment achieved such wide support in the U.S. House of Representatives. While the amendment did not ultimately pass, support for the measure increased by thirty votes. Last night’s vote demonstrates that protecting America’s Roadless Areas is a strong desire of the American people.”

“The Roadless rule is what’s best for wildlife and the forests. Preservation of our last remaining Roadless areas is crucial to protect the untouched and unlogged forest areas that provide healthier ecosystems, cleaner streams, and fresher air. They provide habitat for fish and wildlife and support countless endangered species.”

“The Roadless rule is what’s best for fire safety. Rather than prevent wildfire suppression, as some erroneously suggest, Roadless areas run a much lower risk of catastrophic fire. The Forest Service found that fires are twice as likely to occur in roaded and logged areas than in Roadless areas. Less than three percent of Roadless areas are within a half mile of at-risk communities. The Roadless rule also allows for the treatement of forests for fire management. The rule allows thinning to reduce fire risk, and in emergencies, the rule allows road construction.”

“The Roadless rule is what’s best for the nation’s pocketbook. As the federal government is facing an unprecedented budget deficit, we can not afford to waste taxpayer dollars on new roads in the largely steep, remote reaches of national forests. One of the most essential benefits of the Roadless rule is preserving access to clean sources of water, which the forest service agrees would save downstream communities millions of dollars in water filtration costs. Additionally, the Forest Service only receives enough funds to maintain 20% of the roads to safety, environmental, and transportation standards. It has a maintenance backlog of nearly $10 billion.”

“The Roadless rule is what’s best for the public interest. The administration’s announced intention to give control of federal lands to Governors is an unprecedented move that will wrongly place the onus for the management of public lands on Governors instead of the federal government. The federal government does not manage state lands, and states should not be empowered to manage federal lands! The administration must not turn over decision making on publicly owned land to state governors.”

“Further, the Chugach and Tongass National Forest are the crown jewels of our national forests. The American people deserve to decide these forests’ fate, regardless of which way the political winds blow in the nation’s Capital or state capitals. Our amendment would have prohibited the Administration from making these precipitous changes and maintained the American people’s national interest in our forest management decisions.”

AMENDMENT TO H.R. 2691, AS REPORTED
INTERIOR APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 2004
OFFERED BY MR. INSLEE OF WASHINGTON

Add at the end (before the short title) the following new section:

SEC. __. None of the funds appropriated or made available by this Act may be used to propose, finalize, or implement any change to subpart B of part 294 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, entitled Protection of Inventoried Roadless Areas, as added by the final rule and record of decision published in the Federal Register on January 12, 2001 (66 Fed. Reg. 3244).