Easley Seeks Shield for Roadless Areas: Governor Calls for Feds to Block New Logging Roads in 174,000 Acres
Posted on: Friday, 10 March 2006, 06:00 CST
By Bruce Henderson, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.
Mar. 10--Gov. Mike Easley petitioned federal officials Thursday to protect nearly 174,000 acres of roadless areas in the state's national forests.
North Carolina became only the second state to seek assurance that new logging roads won't be built on some of its wildest land. Virginia filed a similar petition last week.
The request, if granted, would prevent construction of roads that encroach on wildlife, dump eroded soils into clear streams and open scenic mountains to logging.
No logging is planned on the roadless areas that cover 15 percent of the 1.2 million acres of national forests in North Carolina, the U.S. Forest Service says.
In 2001, the Clinton administration protected 58 million acres of national forest from new roads. President Bush's appointees changed the rule last year, requiring that states ask for added protection.
"This new process places a burden on states to protect lands that are a federal responsibility," said Easley, a Democrat, in a statement that complained of the "onerous" petition procedure. The governor also opposes a Forest Service plan, announced last month, to sell about 10,000 acres of forests in North Carolina.
The petition, Easley's staff said, would protect areas near the Blue Ridge Parkway and black-bear habitat in Nantahala Gorge in the state's western tip.
But it wouldn't stop much logging. Fewer than 20,000 of the 174,000 roadless acres are managed for timber production, said Asheville-based Forest Service spokesman Terry Seyden.
Much of the rest, especially in mountain forests, was classified for semi-primitive recreation after public appeals in the mid-1990s. No timber harvests are planned on any of the N.C. roadless areas, Seyden said.
About 2,500 miles of road now snake through the state's national forests. Fewer than 5 miles of road were built or rebuilt in 2004.
Still, environmental groups praised Easley's petition. N.C. residents have filed more than 50,000 comments supporting roadless areas since 1998, his staff said.
The petition will go before a 15-member advisory committee, then to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman for a final decision within 180 days. If it's granted, state and Forest Service officials would work together on a management plan for the roadless areas.
Bruce Henderson: (704) 358-5051
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Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
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