Hell hasn't frozen over and pigs still can't fly but conservationists are embracing Idaho Gov. Jim Risch's management plan for the state's 9.3 million acres of roadless national forest land.
In an unexpected twist in the controversial and litigious process to rewrite management plans for the nation's roadless areas, Risch "pleasantly surprised" conservationists Wednesday when he told a national advisory committee in Washington, D.C., that he wants to enhance protection of Idaho's roadless areas.
"There were a lot of jaws on the floor," said Trout Unlimited's Chris Hunt, one of five Idaho sportsmen who testified in the governor's meeting with the Roadless Area Conservation National Advisory Committee. "The governor's petition was kind of scary, and we were fairly concerned that the outcome wouldn't be in the interests of hunters and anglers in Idaho. But after the governor gave his presentation, we were pleasantly surprised."
According to Jonathan Oppenheimer, of the Idaho Conservation League, the governor told the advisory committee he wants to maintain management prescriptions on 5.5 million roadless acres and permanently protect another 3 million acres.
"That's a significant change from where the governor was a couple months ago when he released this petition," Oppenheimer said. "We were very encouraged by the changes and clarifications the governor provided."
Management of the country's roadless areas was subjected to a rewrite in 2004 after the Bush administration threw out President Bill Clinton's 2001 "roadless rule" to give states more control of their own public lands. The process started at the county level with the collection of public comment, which state governors then used to formulate changes in roadless management prescriptions. In order for any changes to actually occur, governors had to petition the federal government.
But the states of California, Oregon, New Mexico and Washington felt the process was a smokescreen to open public lands to extensive mining and road building and sued the United States Department of Agriculture for issuing the petitions.
Meanwhile, Idaho stayed the course and on Sept. 20 Risch unveiled his petition to alter the management of Idaho's roadless areas. When a federal judge in California ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and reinstated President Clinton's 2001 rule—which occurred the same day Risch released his plan—the governor was undeterred. He announced he would file his petition under the Administrative Procedures Act, which allows anybody to petition the federal government.
Conservationists in Idaho abandoned their celebrations and began dissecting Risch's petition.
On Monday the ICL, Wilderness Society and Heritage Forests Campaign released a detailed, 49-page report titled "Idaho's Roadless Areas are at Risk: A Critique of Governor Risch's Petition to the United States Department of Agriculture."
The report concluded that Risch's petition would allow logging and/or road construction on 82 percent of Idaho's roadless acres. The report also claimed the petition did not accurately reflect the will of the public, lacked clarity, and would shift enormous authority to state officials and county commissioners to prioritize U.S. Forest Service projects.
So what changed on Wednesday?
"The governor's move represents a change in course, but he also certainly provided more clarification," Oppenheimer said.
Brad Hoaglun, spokesman for Risch's office, said the governor did not change his course. He simply was given a chance to explain it in greater detail.
"It did surprise some environmentalists because they had not heard it on that level," Hoaglun said. "It was already pre-judged, and of course, when they looked at it, it was through their lens of how it will be. Now that they've had more time to look at it they see a few more things they like about it."
A significant source of concern, and perhaps misunderstanding, was the language used in the petition.
For example, the petition states that in certain roadless areas "timber harvest can be used as a by-product for addressing urgent forest health."
"How will they define what 'forest health' is?" Oppenheimer wondered in September. "That could open up to logging over 7 million acres. Of that, a little over 6 million acres could be opened to road construction."
On Wednesday, the governor made it clear that "forest health" was not a loophole term that would permit commercial logging or new road construction.
"We probably needed to define some of the terms a little better to make sure everyone knows exactly what these terms mean," Hoaglun said.
"What the governor said yesterday, in very clear language, is that he was accepting the 2001 protection for 5.5 million acres and he wanted to see higher levels of protection for 3-plus million acres than was contained in the 2001 rule," Oppenheimer said.
"We wouldn't have had those protections under Clinton's 2001 rule, so that's impressive," Hunt said. "To the governor's credit, and to Jim Caswell's credit, that is good stuff for Idaho's hunters and anglers, and that's a big deal."
Caswell, a former national forest supervisor and current administrator of the Idaho Office of Species Conservation, was hired by former Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne to take the lead on Idaho's petition process. He has continuously stressed the new plan would only strengthen protection of Idaho's roadless areas.
"We said all along we would start with the forest plan as the basis for considering the future and changes to those forest plans," Caswell said in September.
"This is Idaho and Idahoans like their public lands. They like to use their public lands, and they like to see responsible use," Hoaglun said.
But as Hoaglun said, this is Idaho, where political policies bleed more red than green.
"Anytime you talk conservation in Idaho, you think of the worst case scenario," Hunt said. "I was guilty of it. A lot of people were guilty of it. We essentially expected the worst. But this is something that is honestly not too shabby.
"We remain cautiously optimistic that what he said is what he means."
The advisory committee resumed discussions Thursday and according to Hoaglun would issue recommendations to the governor about the next course of action.
Oppenheimer and Hoglun both agree that this is the beginning of a long-term, concerted effort to establish a permanent management plan for Idaho's roadless areas.
Oppenheimer expects Risch's plan to undergo another round of public review and environmental assessments—a process that could take a couple years.
"This is something I look forward to being involved in," Oppenheimer said. "This will be an opportunity for all Idahoans to attend meetings, get information and provide input."
Summary of Risch's roadless management plan
- Wildland recreation (potential wilderness/no road construction): 1.43 million acres.
- Primitive (open to salvage and fuel-reduction projects/no road construction): 1.68 million acres.
- Backcountry (road construction emphasis on temporary with mitigation): 5.51 million acres.
- General forest (road construction permanent/compatible): 521,169 acres.
Breakdown of Idaho lands
- Size of state: 52,960,000 acres.
- National Forests: 20,458,000 acres.
- Wilderness: 4,005,754 acres (fifth largest sum in U.S.).
- Roadless: 9,322,000 acres (largest in Lower 48).
- Blaine County shares four roadless areas totaling more than 1.1 million acres with adjacent counties.
The Sawtooth Wilderness, pictured under a deep snowpack in May 2006, is permanently protected as designated wilderness. However, roadless areas adjacent to and near the wilderness, including the Boulder-White Cloud mountains, could be subject to new management plans under Gov. Risch?s petition process. Photo by David N. Seelig
