Press Release: House Resources Chairman James V. Hansen's statement
in Judge Lodge's preliminary injunction on roadless rule
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Marnie Funk/Michael Correia
May 10, 2001
202-226-9019
Idaho Judge Issues Temporary Injunction Preventing Implementation
of Clinton's Roadless Rule Judge Cited Likelihood of Irreparable Long-term
Harm
Washington, D.C. - House Resources Committee Chairman James V. Hansen's
statement:
"Judge Lodge hit the nail squarely on the head today when he
issued a preliminary injunction halting the implementation of this
roadless rule. He talked about the 'irreparable harm' the rule will
cause to our national forests. My training is in insurance, not law,
so I probably would have characterized it as a devastating loss of
property and life.
"Last year, 17 people died and 860 buildings were destroyed
in the worst wildfire season this country has ever seen. More than
92,000 fires scorched 7 million acres. We nearly lost Los Alamos.
The prognosis for this summer is even worse. This year, we've already
fought more than 2,000 wildfires in Florida. The entire Northwest
is a tinderbox waiting for a hot spark.
"Judge Lodge's ruling lets us get in there and pull out diseased
and dead wood. It lets us save lives and try to head off pending disaster.
"Most people don't understand that this so-called roadless rule
closes thousands of existing roads. That's because the previous Administration
used bad data when they slapped this rule together. This summer, we
must have those roads. Isn't it ironic that it will be the roads that
help us save our nation's forests."
