Report says forest roads could cost state millions

The groups released a report Monday after a public comment period collected information that claimed failure to protect roadless areas could cost $3.5 million annually in recreation expenditures and threaten $467.2 million worth of drinking water within the 13-state Southern region.

The Bush administration rule change proposal would open 58.5 million acres of preserved national forest for roads, affecting about 85,000 acres of the Cherokee National Forest in East Tennessee.

The report, “Our National Legacy: The Value of America’s Roadless National Forests,” suggested outdoor enthusiasts are less likely to visit an area with extensive roads. More than 1 million people submitted comments against the rule, according to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group’s report.

U.S. Forest Service officials contend the new rule won’t create a surge of roads.

“Our goal is to protect these areas; it’s not to open them up for timber-harvesting or road-building,” said Forest Service spokeswoman Heidi Valetkevitch. “It’s not what the agency does these days. We have more than enough roads in our national forests.”

The Bush administration’s proposal would undo a Clinton administration “roadless rule” that has been mired in litigation and struck down in a federal court.

Valetkevitch said the new rule would allow state governors to petition the U.S. Department of Agriculture to keep the level of protection afforded by the Clinton administration policy. Gov. Phil Bredesen in September wrote a letter to the U.S. Agriculture Department expressing concern about the change.

Valetkevitch said the Forest Service will examine all comments before making a final decision on the rule.

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Information from: Chattanooga Times Free Press, http://www.timesfreepress.com