Good news comes to those who wait. The Obama administration has decided to defend the Clinton-era roadless rule in national forests. It's part of an extremely Obama-speak "new direction" for forests: much emphasis on change, a promise of fresh air compared to the polluted and poisonous Bush-era policies, but way too much bipartisanship and not enough specifics.
National forests are, oddly enough, managed by the Department of Agriculture, proof that timber is just a glorified tomato vine. Or, as the poet's first drafts read:
I hope that I shall never talk
About a poem as lovely as a cornstalk
I hope that I shall never see
A poem as lovely as broccoli
I hope that I shall never meet
A poem as lovely as a beet
Yesterday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a new direction for national forests. From the press release:
By taking forest management in a new direction, the Department will emphasize the role our national forestlands play in contributing to the health and prosperity of the country and reverse the trend of declining forest health.
The single most important part of it was the shocking notion that trees are not just timber.
"Our nation's forestlands, both public and private, are environmental and economic assets that are in critical need of restoration and conservation," said Vilsack. "By using a collaborative management approach with a heavy focus on restoring these natural resources, we can make our forests more resilient to climate change, protect water resources, and improve forest health while creating jobs and opportunities."
Notice the order: climate change, water resources, forest health, then jobs.
Earthjustice and the Sierra Club cheer. So do loggers and timber industry spokespeople -- and this blogger doesn't mind, because Vilsack hints, in the interest of curbing global warming, that timber barons may be paid not to cut trees much as farmers have been paid not to grow food.
Another reason to cheer: the Obama administration will return to the Clinton-era roadless rule prohibiting new roads in currently undeveloped areas (about 30% of the total national forest land). The Bush administration sabotaged the rule, and lawsuits littered the courts like autumn leaves on the forest floor, so the roadless rule has been ping-ponging around the courts since it was announced in early 2001. Most recently, the liberal Ninth Circuit upheld it, splitting with the 10th Circuit and setting up a Supreme Court showdown. Very good news for trees: if the courts don't resolve it, the Obama administration will write its own roadless rule. Obama has sent some mixed signals during its first seven months, permitting a road into the Tongass while denying roads in Oregon, but this announcement is good news for forests. Change has come slowly, but it is here.