Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Idaho. Photo: Steve Holmer

The Forest Service has released a final rule that will affect millions of acres of roadless areas on National Forest lands in Idaho. The decision stems from the Bush Administration’s effort to establish a state by state approach to roadless area management, and runs counter to scientific evidence, which demonstrates that areas with low road densities, less altered or modified forest vegetation, and lower levels of human activity and ground disturbance are generally better for wildlife and their habitats.

The Idaho final plan will allow logging and road construction on more than 400,000 roadless acres, and less intensive activities on another 5.3 million acres. The plan could adversely affect U.S. WatchList species such as the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black Swift, Flammulated Owl, Williamson’s Sapsucker, Mountain Plover, White-headed Woodpecker, and Greater Sage-Grouse. The final Environmental Impact Statement on the plan found that 20 of 29 known Greater Sage-Grouse leks in Idaho’s National Forest roadless areas could be impacted.

The Greater Sage-Grouse will also be affected by a proposed rule that would eliminate current protection for over 300,000 acres of National Forest roadless areas in Colorado to facilitate road construction, energy development, and timber removal. The rule also threatens habitat for the threatened Southwestern Willow Flycatcher and Mexican Spotted Owl, as well as the WatchListed Gunnison Sage-Grouse, Mountain Plover, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Black Swift, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Flammulated Owl, and Brewer’s Sparrow.

Comments on the Colorado plan can be sent to /**/ /*********************************************** * Encrypt Email script- Please keep notice intact * Tool URL: http://www.dynamicdrive.com/emailriddler/ * **********************************************/ var emailriddlerarray=[67,79,67,111,109,109,101,110,116,115,64,102,115,114,111,97,100,108,101,115,115,46,111,114,103] var encryptedemail_id25='' //variable to contain encrypted email for (var i=0; iCOComments@fsroadless.org') /**/ COComments@fsroadless.org until October 23. For more information, visit http://roadless.fs.fed.us/colorado.shtml.