Twenty Republicans in the U.S House, led by Reps. Sherwood Boehlert (N.Y.) and Constance Morella (Md.), joined with more than 100 Democrats yesterday in asking President Bush not to roll back the plan approved by the Clinton administration to ban road-building and logging on 58.5 million acres of national forestland. Boehlert said, “I believe our forests should be open to multiple uses, but we still must protect the last remaining pristine areas.” The White House needs to make a decision this week on whether to defend the logging ban in a court case in Boise, Idaho. Word on the street is that the Bush administration is exploring ways to delay the Clinton plan indefinitely.
