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HJM010........................................by RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION
FOREST ROADLESS AREAS - Requesting Congress to take appropriate action to
invalidate the proposed policy change of the United States Forest Service
to halt all road construction in roadless areas of national forests and to
do all within its statutory authority to deny funding for the
implementation of the proposed policy change which circumvents public
participation requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and the
National Forest Management Act.
02/12 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/13 Rpt prt - to Res/Con
02/20 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/23 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/26 3rd rdg - ADOPTED - voice vote - to Senate
02/27 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Res/Env
03/19 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 10th Ord
03/20 10th ord - ADOPTED, voice vote
Title apvd - to House
03/23 To enrol - rpt enrol - Sp signed
Pres signed - to Secretary of State
HJM010|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-fourth Legislature Second Regular Session - 1998IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 10 BY RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION COMMITTEE 1 A JOINT MEMORIAL 2 TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS 3 ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF 4 IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES. 5 6 We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Senate of the 7 State of Idaho assembled in the Second Regular Session of the Fifty-fourth 8 Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that: 9 WHEREAS, on January 22, 1998, U.S. Forest Service chief Michael Dombeck 10 proposed a major overhaul of the forest road system, including a proposal to 11 halt all road construction in roadless areas of national forests; and 12 WHEREAS, forests occupy some 3/4 billion acres, or 1/3 of the land area of 13 the United States and the change would effectively create the largest de facto 14 wilderness bill in history which would close public access to in excess of 47% 15 of the national forest land base outside established wilderness, as well as 16 limit access to wilderness; and 17 WHEREAS, this proposed policy change will result in an eighteen-month mor- 18 atorium on road building within roadless areas currently defined as areas over 19 5,000 acres, roadless areas identified and inventoried within their forest 20 plans, roadless areas over 1,000 acres that are adjacent to other roadless 21 areas of 5,000 acres or larger which are congressionally designated wilderness 22 or "wild river" corridors, roadless or very low density areas designated for 23 inclusion by regional foresters because of their unique ecological or social 24 values, and decommissioning of "unneeded" existing roads; and 25 WHEREAS, a moratorium by administrative fiat circumvents the public par- 26 ticipation and environmental documentation requirements of the National Envi- 27 ronmental Policy Act and the National Forest Management Act, as well as the 28 Congress of the United States; and 29 WHEREAS, Idaho Code sections 40-107 and 40-204A define "federal lands 30 rights-of-way" within the context of Revised Statute 2477, codified as 43 31 United States Code 932, and Idaho House Joint Memorial No. 6 of 1993 affirms 32 Idaho's interest in maintaining Revised Statute 2477 authorization and grants, 33 in rights-of-way access to unreserved, or formerly unreserved public lands; 34 and 35 WHEREAS, as counties are entitled to receive 25% of receipts from national 36 forest lands, the new policy has the potential of eliminating $100 million 37 dollars in desperately needed moneys for local schools; and 38 WHEREAS, the administration has only evaluated the devastating economic 39 effect on timber harvest and is ignoring the negative impact on mining, graz- 40 ing, commercial and private recreationists and local economies; and 41 WHEREAS, unemployment rates could rise up to 33% in 7 western states and 42 in some eastern and southern states; and 43 WHEREAS, forest roads are an integral part of maintaining forest health, 44 as well as an integral part of a socioeconomic base that would shortchange 45 rural counties of millions in revenue for having federal forests within their 2 1 boundaries; and 2 WHEREAS, a road moratorium would preempt all state and local laws and reg- 3 ulations. 4 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Ses- 5 sion of the Fifty-fourth Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and 6 the Senate concurring therein, that the Congress of the United States is urged 7 to recognize state and county rights-of-way under Revised Statute 2477 and 8 take appropriate action to invalidate the proposed policy change for forest 9 roadless areas; and 10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Congress of the United States is urged to 11 do all within its statutory authority to deny funding for the implementation 12 of the proposed policy change by administrative fiat. 13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representa- 14 tives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this 15 Memorial to the Honorable William Clinton, President of the United States, to 16 the Honorable Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture, to Chief Michael 17 Dombeck, United States Forest Service, to the President of the Senate and the 18 Speaker of the House of Representatives of Congress, the congressional dele- 19 gation representing the State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States, 20 and to the Honorable Phil Batt, Governor of the State of Idaho.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 07958
Requests the Congress of the United States to recognize
state and county rights-of-way under Idaho Revised Statute
2477. Requests the Congress of the United States to take
appropriate action to invalidate the United States Forest
Service Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking relative to the
roadless Areas of national forests, and to deny funding for the
implementation of the proposed policy change initiated by
administrative fiat.
FISCAL NOTE
There is no fiscal impact to the General Fund
CONTACT: Representative Michael Simpson
Representative Lenore Hardy Barrett
Representative JoAn Wood
332-1000
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE
HJM10