Response mixed on roadless plan

By Greg Jones, staff writer
Published on Wednesday, August 4, 2004 11:36 AM MST

The Arizona Wilderness Coalition thinks the Bush administration's plan to open previously protected lands to road construction is a mistake.

"We think it's an awful plan," Dan Hoffman, director of the coalition said. "It's really a bad deal from our perspective."

Hoffman said the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2001 was a widely popular idea that is now being destroyed by the Bush administration.

The Clinton administration enacted the Roadless Area Conservation Rule in January of 2001. The rule established blanket, nationwide prohibitions limiting, with some exceptions, timber harvest, road construction and reconstruction within inventoried roadless areas in national forests across the country.

Hoffman said the roadless rule only applies to 10 percent of national forest land in Arizona, leaving 90 percent of the land open to road construction and motorized access.

He said these small pockets of roadless lands need to be protected to preserve the ecosystem and to preserve the quality recreational activities those areas supply.

Hoffman said he doesn't believe the claim that paving roadless areas would reduce the threat of wildfires.

"Large roadless areas, in my mind, allow us to use fire and let fire do its work," Hoffman said. "It's in the areas adjacent to communities where you have problems, and that's why there is not a need right now to build roads in roadless areas to reduce fuel loads. Where there is a strong need is in these areas adjacent to communities."

Hoffman said the Forest Service has traditionally allowed roadless areas to burn, reducing their threat to communities.

Also, because these areas are allowed to burn, Forest Service officials can steer the fire into the roadless areas without having to worry about threatening any structures.

"Large roadless areas have a track record of being the areas where wildfires are allowed to burn," Hoffman said.

"They don't have homes and roads and campgrounds and the facilities that come along with having a roaded area that you're required to protect.

"There is not a need -- right now -- to build roads in roadless areas to reduce fuel loads."

Graham County Super-visor Mark Herrington said it is unlikely the changes to the Roadless Rule will have a large impact on Mount Graham.

"Where roads are, roads are, and there's not many more roads you can build," he said. "Most of the mountain is so steep in topography that you can't have a road up there."

Still, Herrington said he approves of what the president is doing.

He is not happy with federal mandates that prohibit what can be done with certain parcels of land.

"Tying up all this ground and never building another road is absurd," he said. "When the federal government steps in and makes these mandates -- these edicts they give us -- it just impairs what we're trying to do."

There are places on the mountain where there are too many trees and too much debris that needs to be cleaned up, Herrington said.

Bringing in industry to help in those efforts is an idea he likes.

Herrington said there is not enough money to return the forests to healthy levels, and the timber industry can be used to help.

The governor's office has been contacted for comment numerous times since July 22 but had not returned phone calls by press time.

The plan will be open to a 60-day public comment period that will run through September.

To contact Greg Jones, call 428-2560 (ext. 234) or e-mail him at gjones@eacourier.com.

Copyright © 2008 Eastern Arizona Courier

Comments

13 comment(s)

    Tricia Wenzl wrote on Sep 20, 2008 4:32 PM:

    " Re: Eve Batchelder murder-2006. I personally knew Eve as did many of my other co-workers and we were appalled that her confessed murderer was allowed to plead to a lesser charge (obviously) to escape the death penalty. This was a pre-meditated murder and kidnapping, resulting in the death of a wonderful, gentle soul not to mention leaving her two children without their mother! Jason Martinez does not deserve to live at the expense of the taxpayers with the chance that he could be paroled! Society cannot afford to be "soft" for the fear of peer pressure. "

    ciara wrote on Jul 17, 2008 9:06 PM:

    " hi i would like to know what time the pool opens "

    Warnar Moll Amsterdam The Netherlands wrote on Jul 14, 2008 11:20 AM:

    " I agree with Rustom Kevala.
    In literature there are many scientific indications that the preparation of the sacred liquid (Haoma),could not contain a Hallucinogen-Entheogen drug (cf publications of Harry Falk, Jan Houben, Frits Staal and the late Mary Boyce).
    As a plant-physiologist and toxicologian, I did some study about the preparation of Parahom (as described in Avesta). From the scientic point of view it is impossible that the sacred drink is hallucinogen.
    I do not understand the arguments of the Pima's Church of Cognizance.
    It is as stupid as the assert: Jesus used Marihuana. "

    tom wrote on Apr 19, 2008 3:15 PM:

    " if having someone go through something like especially a child is not an invasion of privacy then nothing is but then thats the 9th circus for you "

    F THE SYSTEM!!! wrote on Feb 14, 2008 9:15 AM:

    " Who cares about ibuprofen anyways! its just a pill that peopel take for headaches and aches who cares about what the school system. If someone suffers from chronic headaches and stuff like that they should be allowed to carry it around. IT was a bad thing to distribute it around to others, but they should be able to keep it anyway. Its not like teachers are all that willing to let students out of the classroom just because of a headache!!! SMS should be sued. Strip searching a student like that should NOT BE ALLOWED!!!! "

    LaVae McClellan wrote on Feb 5, 2008 1:51 PM:

    " Eric and Kevin Yazzie are my brothers, they always will be. Yeah its true they had a history of fighting, but thats all u see. The Eric and Kevin i know are happy and fun loving, make everybody laugh. I miss kevin, but theres nothing we can do for him now. As for Eric they need to let my brother go already "

    joe tapia wrote on Dec 9, 2007 8:05 PM:

    " I have spent half of my life in this canyon along with my cusion juan luepke and I would like to know what threats to the public that our gate is causing. there is another way into the canyon then through our property. Just before you get to the cobra guest ranch on klondyke rd take the tully springs\old aravaipa town turn follow for about 4 miles there is a side road just after the second cattle guard the road turns east you have to open a few gates but there not locked. "

    JOE TAPIA wrote on Dec 9, 2007 12:11 AM:

    " THE ROAD THAT EVERY ONE HAS USED FOR THE LAST 20-30 YEARS, Is owned by my family. as I have been told to me by my father that the b.l.m and nature conseverency asked to use our road because their easement down by the river kept getting washed out by floods.So when norma put the gate up the b.l.m asked the conservency to redo the road by the river again conservency said no way. By,joe tapia "

    Katelynn Nichols wrote on Dec 7, 2007 5:34 PM:

    " Clifford Bea Fowler is My uncle ans my cousin Kelci's dad he may be a white supremeist but he still loves his daughter.But he should be held responsible for his actions. "

    Stephen wrote on Nov 30, 2007 8:57 AM:

    " My thoughts and prayer's go out to the late Bobby Bell's family. "

    SMSmom wrote on Nov 9, 2007 12:11 PM:

    " I will be notified if my child is in so much trouble that he may need to be stripped searched. "Depending on circumstances"--NO I WILL BE NOTIFIED!!! TRY ME!!! "

    Keisha wrote on Oct 27, 2007 8:03 PM:

    " I'm sure if these guys were a threat to society action would of been taken. I'm not condoning such behavior but Linda sounds like she's up to no good. "

    linda wrote on Oct 26, 2007 11:59 AM:

    " Is there any way to post the photos of these molesters "in" the schools so that the children and school staff may detect any possible molesters? After all they are the ones who would most likely see them. "

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