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Roadless plan makes few happy It�s either too weak or too restrictive By Paul Fattig It either goes too far or not far enough. That was the general feeling of many commenting Wednesday night during a public hearing in Medford on the Forest Service�s roadless area draft environmental impact statement. Ecology, economics and public opinion demand stronger action than that provided in the preferred alternative to protect the agency inventoried roadless areas, said Robert Lonsdorf, conservation director for the Ashland-based Headwaters environmental coalition. "Why did the Forest Service choose such a weak, timid and insupportable alternative?" he asked. "The preferred alternative does not even meet the state purpose and need . . . it is wholly inadequate in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary." Although the environmental camp appeared to be out in greater force in the nearly 150 people attending, the timber industry, off-road vehicles users and others got in their licks. "Everyone here tonight uses renewable wood and paper resources," said Dave Hill, executive vice president of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association. "It is the demand for these resources that results in trees from our forests being harvested." Noting that the proposed action would only hurt the local economy already reeling from past timber harvest reductions on local federal land, he asked for a 120-day extension on the public comment period for the proposed roadless policy. "There should be no rush to judgment on a national proposal affecting more than one-quarter of our national forest lands just to meet the political needs of a departing administration," Hill said. The proposal would ban roads into 43 million acres of inventoried roadless areas on national forests. The draft EIS is the result of President Clinton�s roadless area directive issued last year. The agency�s preferred alternative calls for letting local forest officials decide whether to ban activities such as logging, mining and off-road vehicle use. It would also postpone a decision on protecting 8� million acres of inventoried roadless areas on the Tongass National Forest in Alaska until 2004. In an effort to let more people have their say, the agency limited verbal comments to three minutes. Comments were recorded by a court recorder, who stopped recording after the time limit expired. Written comments will be accepted through July 17. Wednesday�s session was one of three Southern Oregon hearings being held this week, beginning with a Tuesday meeting in Gold Beach. The final local meeting to take comments will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday in the floral exhibit building at the Josephine County Fairgrounds in Grants Pass. Ashland resident Tom Rose was concerned that many ski areas, including Ski Ashland on Mount Ashland, are looking to expand into roadless areas. But Gerald Hart of Medford noted that off-road vehicle users in the region have contributed $250,000 to the Forest Service for multiple use. If the off-road vehicle users are excluded from roadless areas, he suggested the Sierra Club pick up the tab. Others talked about the healing potential of roadless areas, both for nature and humans. "Our need for these spirited sanctuaries is deep and strong," said Ashland resident Virginia Lemon, citing the spiritual peace many find in unroaded areas. But after listening to countless testimonies about the need to preserve the beauty of roadless areas, a man who identified himself as a member of the Motorcycle Riders Association and the Oregon Hunters Association had enough. "You can see it riding, driving or walking � it all looks the same," he said. Written comments should be faxed to 877-703-2494 or mailed to: USDA Forest Service-CAET, attention: Roadless Area Proposed Rule, P.O. Box 221090, Salt Lake City, UT 841122. Comments can also be sent via the Web site http:/roadless.fs.fed.us. There is no length limit on written comments. A final decision on the draft EIS is expected this fall. Forest Service roadless area proposal The Forest Service is proposing prohibiting new roads on 43 million acres of inventoried roadless areas on national forests, including 1.6 million acres in Oregon. There are nearly 81,500 acres of inventoried roadless areas in the nearly 631,000-acre Rogue River National Forest. The 1.1-million-acre Siskiyou National Forest has slightly more than 287,000 acres of inventoried roadless areas. The inventoried roadless area acreage in the Rogue River forest include: Bitter Lick, 6,664 Brown Mountain, 6,692 Condrey Mountain, 9,076 Kangaroo, 20,344 Kinney, 7,500 Little Grayback, 9,425 McDonald Peak, 9,425 Rogue-Umpqua Divide, 6,687 Sherwood, 7,050 Inventoried roadless area acreage in the Siskiyou includes: Briggs, 5,915 Copper Mountain, 8,783 Grassy Knob, 5,672 Kalmiopsis Addition, 1,308 Kangaroo, 7,092 Mount Emily, 5,760 Mule Creek, 407 North Fork Smith, 918 North Kalmiopsis, 91,495 Packsaddle, 5,517 Potato Mountain, 5,945 Quosatana, 5,138 Rogue, 3,363 Shasta Costa, 14,409 Siskiyou, 3,043 South Kalmiopsis, 104,469 Squaw Mountain, 7,932 Windy Valley, 9,897 Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. 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