Administration Tramples Roadless Rules
By Erika McDonald
Earlier this summer, the Bush administration announced it's plans to repeal the federal roadless rule that protects millions of acres of pristine forests across the nation.
"Is it too much to ask the forest services that the American people have 50 percent of their own national forest to recreate and camp and fish like these areas were always intended?" asked Texas Public Interest Research Group organizer Stephanie Gros. Tex PIRG was one of several national and Texas based environmental groups that gathered in Memorial Park to protest a Bush plan to lift the Clinton-era ban that restricts road building-and therefore logging mining and logging-because it will impact wild areas in the Sam Houston National Forest.
Nationally, the rule protects 58 million acres of wild forest that provides habitat for 1900 endangered species and clean drinking water for more than 60 million American. Texas is one of the 39 states impacted by the rollback, with 4,000 acres of the Sam Houston National Forest protected by the rule. Those 4,000 acres make up four distinct wilderness areas within the forest that the rollback would open up to commercial logging.
The Little Lake Creek roadless area in the far southwest portion of Sam Houston National Forest provides habitat for the federally endangered red cockaded woodpecker. It also provides watershed protection for Sandbranch, a tributary of Little Lake Creek.
The Big Woods roadless area in the northern part of the forest features old growth white oaks, red maple and broad leaf pines and is part of the Lone Star hiking trail, the longest continuous hiking trail in the state.
The Big Creek scenic area features a unique American beech/southern magnolia forest that is quickly disappearing across the United States. The Winters Bayou scenic area protects bottomland hardwood forest along Winter's Bayou. The bayou is a major tributary to the east fork of the San Jacinto river and the east fork forms the main waterway that goes into Lake Houston, which provides drinking water for the city of Houston.
Houston Sierra Club's Forestry Chair, Brandt Mannchen said impacts to drinking water quality are the primary concern for opponents of the rollback. Several streams that begin in currently protected areas of Sam Houston National Forest flow into lake Houston and lake Conroe, which, together, account for the roughly 80 percent of Houston's drinking water supply.
"Most of the roads (that would be built after lifting the ban) are gravel or dirt roads and when it rains a lot of the soil washes into the creeks, and smothers fish spawning," Mannchenn said, "and if there was an oil or coolant spill, that also washes off and the toxic material goes into the water."
Mannchenn said the risk goes beyond contamination of surface water. The Sam Houston National Forest is also a recharge zone for the Evangeline and Chicot aquifers.
Under the Bush plan, the 58 million acres of untouched forest currently protected would be subject to logging. Governors' of the 39 states impacted by the rule would be forced to petition the federal government to protect the wild areas, a resource intensive process that critics say is subject to denial. Local activists say they think it unlikely the Texas Governor, Rick Perry, frequently criticized over his stance on environmental enforcement will petition to protect the Sam Houston National Forest.
All told, 1.4 million, or one in every 100 Americans submitted public comment supporting the federal roadless rule. Such widespread support means activists like Gros and Mannchen have found unlikely allies. 35-year veteran of organized bass fishing,Ed Parten says he supports commerce, but not at the expense of public health.
"I'm not anti big business; I think big business has contributed to making this country as great and wonderful as it is, but in the greed and love of money they've lost sight of protecting the health and welfare of people, game and fish and I think that's sad," Parten said. "I think when we turn this around to where everyone cares about the environment, we're all going to be much better off."
Amid arguments that focus on the protection of resources like, fish, game and water, Sierra Club's Brandt Mannchen says not to overlook the importance of outdoor recreation.
"Everyday people are working more and more and getting ahead less and less and there has to be a place where they can go and enjoy themselves," he said. "Sam Houston National Forest is one of those places and it doesn't cost you a cent, they're your lands, you own them and you have a right to use them wisely."
Opponents of the roadless rule remain skeptical that the administration will yield to public opinion. A final decision was postponed until November 15, after the presidential election and no public hearings have been scheduled.
