Democratic presidential rivals Al Gore and Bill Bradley had a little spat last night over logging in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire and Maine. Speaking at a New Hampshire debate, Bradley criticized the Clinton administration’s plan to limit logging in roadless areas of national forests because it would put some of the White Mountains off-limits to cutting, which Bradley said would pre-empt a more local planning process to manage the forest. Bradley said there should be “mixed use” in the forest, both logging and recreation. Gore made a tepid defense of the administration’s proposal, saying it “was a preliminary statement of intention to protect this land, and then have a process of consultation with the communities and the individuals who live near the areas to be protected.” Enviros want logging to be curtailed in the White Mountains, while many locals who work in the timber and paper industries want no logging restrictions.
