California federal Magistrate Judge Elizabeth D. Laporte has set-aside a U.S. Forest service rule that allows governors to decide which land in national forests is suited for logging and mining. Judge Laporte ruled that the Bush elimination of a major program requires an environmental impact statement. The ruling does not affect Alaska's Tsongass National Forest. Aren't forest products renewable resources? There shouldn't be any roads through national forests?
The ruling is a de facto reinstatement of the Clinton "Roadless Rule," which put significant national forest acreage off limits to development. Of course, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has authority over America's forest products and has a similar Bush forest rule. (Washington Post article)
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