The Clinton-Gore administration today will release a draft proposal that would ban road-building on 43 million acres of roadless national forest land while letting local forest officials decide whether to prohibit activities such as logging, mining, and off-road vehicle use. Enviros who had praised President Clinton when he broadly outlined the roadless plan in October are disappointed that today’s more specific proposal doesn’t explicitly prohibit logging or other destructive land uses. They also criticize the draft for deferring until 2004 a decision on whether to protect roadless areas within the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. The U.S. Forest Service will hold public meetings and take public comments on the plan over the next two months.
