Tiering down in action?
By ending the Clinton-era protection for some 32 million acres of Forest Service land, and giving the decision-making responsibility to the governors of the states containing the USFS land, the federal government has begun an interesting experiment in regional control. In Utah, where there are more than 4 million roadless acres, The Salt Lake Tribune reports:
“This rule gives great flexibility to governors to respond on a forest-by-forest basis,” Michael Styler, director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, said in a statement. “It also allows the needs and concerns of local communities to be addressed.”The national environmental organizations are not happy with this idea, which is understandable given this administration's track record on almost every other environmental issue that it has altered.
Unlike other federal policies that are basically giveaways to industry, however, I think this one should be viewed as a test of the "tiering down" approach. It's an opportunity for states and communities to demonstrate that they are serious and capable stewards of the land around them, and that they can manage public interests beyond short-term economics. And frankly, at this point and as surreal as it seems, I'd rather see the governor of Utah deciding the fate of Utah's forests instead of the president and his appointees.
1 Comments:
This is mostly a post I put up at:
http://www.westerndemocrat.com/2005/05/dont_cry_for_th.html
The roadless rule was a big win for national environmentalists during the Clinton Administration. And, good for them, it kept many of the West's national forests out of commercial production and safe for properly functioning eco-systems. But, now the Bush Administration has pulled away the table cloth and has left it up to Western governor's to decide what to do now.
Since most of the West's governors are Democrats (or have said like Arnold that they will respect the original roadless rule), this is a real opportunity to show that Western Dems can balance the needs of our communities with our natural resources.
This new rule can be a victory for Western Dems, but we have to start working now in order to make it happen. In states where we have Democrat governors we have to be sure they craft good strong plans that work for everyone. In states with Red governors, we have to be involved, super duper involved, in crafting the plans to show that Westerners can be good stewards of their owns states.
We won't know the real outcome of this new rule for years, but hopefully, in the end, Westerners in general and Western Dems specifically, can be seen as both protecting our landscape and our communities.
Post a Comment
<< Home