Schweitzer seeks input on roadless suggestions

Gov. Brian Schweitzer called on the Flathead County commissioners Monday morning,

asking for input and help with management recommendations for federal roadless lands in

Montana.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer called on the Flathead County commissioners Monday morning, asking for input and help with management recommendations for federal roadless lands in Montana.

Schweitzer expressed frustration with the roadless process advanced by the Bush Administration, but a willingness to "do our level best" at developing a recommendation for roadless areas on national forests.

Schweitzer told the commissioners that he wanted to do away with polarizing rhetoric regarding roadless areas, and he predicted that his recommendations would end up calling for changes only in very specific places.

He stressed that Montana's petition to the U.S. Forest Service does not come with any real power.

"I don't have the authority to say no to new roads," he said. "I don't have the authority to say to yes to a whole lot of new roads."

He added that any recommended change in the status of lands would require justification.

"To change the status quo, we have to have compelling reasons," he said.

The governor's involvement in the long-running roadless issue came about earlier this year, when the Bush administration announced a plan aimed at soliciting recommendations from the states, rather than relying on a roadless rule generated by the Forest Service.

After a public process that involved 1.6 million people, the Clinton administration provided protection for 58.5 million acres of roadless lands, including 6.4 million acres in Montana. But that "roadless rule" was suspended to allow for state input.

A major frustration for Schweitzer is that states have been asked to do additional roadless research without any guarantee of funding or professional assistance from the Forest Service.

He said he raised that issue with Mark Rey, the Department of Agriculture undersecretary, who responded that the Forest Service will provide some assistance.

Schweitzer said Rey told him that a major purpose for the process is to reduce the potential for lawsuits, particularly lawsuits that might be filed by states in opposition to the roadless rule that is adopted. The Clinton roadless rule faced a series of legal challenges.

"The assumption is that they really want our input," Schweitzer said. "Then we will do our level best."

Schweitzer urged the commissioners to provide very specific information and to avoid peripheral forest management issues. If someone is unhappy about a road closure, that is a matter that pertains to roaded lands and is not part of the issue, he said.

And if a person thinks there should be more logging in roaded lands, that too is a separate matter, he said.

"What I'm asking for in this process is specific ideas, with maps, about what to do with these lands," he said.

Schweitzer said he does not believe that the Bush administration intends to pursue big changes for the vast majority of roadless areas, because there are sound reasons those areas have been left unroaded for decades. But there may be certain justifiable exceptions, he added.

"I think 99.9 percent of the Clinton rule will be the same," he said. "But the input we get will provide recommendations for very specific areas."

Schweitzer said he is going to county commissioners as "the most logical place" to start generating local input on forest management issues.

County Commissioners Gary Hall and Joe Brenneman said they will organize public meetings with the help of local legislators. Hall said he is confident that personnel on the Flathead National Forest will help with the process as needed.

Hall said he liked Schweitzer's idea of focusing on specific areas, with a "burden of proof" to justify any roads in those areas.

"If we need roads in a certain area, we need to know why, and what's it going to look like," he said.

About two dozen people, most of them advocates for protecting roadless areas, attended Monday's meeting. Several said that in addition to having ecological value, roadless lands have economic value, attracting people and businesses to Montana.

The governor was urged to involve Montana's congressional delegation, along with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, in developing a recommendation for roadless areas.

The governor hopes to get recommendations from the state's forest counties by Jan. 1. All states have until October 2006 to submit their roadless petitions to the Forest Service.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com