[Iesaf_selkirk] Fw: Position statement to forward to Selkirk members

[lkaney]

Greetings, IESAF Chapter Chairs:

As agreed at the IESAF executive committee meeting on Jan. 19, each IESAF chapter will decide whether to approve the attached position statement. IESAF needs to complete this business before the comment period closes in early April, which means the March 20 meeting in Moscow is when each chapter’s business should be finalized and reported. According to SAF bylaws, it takes a two-thirds vote of unit officers to approve a position statement. Based on discussion at the Jan. 19 meeting, I suggest you bring the attached position statement draft to chapter members’ attention, solicit their opinions before conducting a vote, and compile the comments for IESAF executive committee members to consider, along with your chapter’s vote.

The SAF does not have a national position on roadless areas, but does have a position on Roads in Managed Forests* that states, "While recognizing that roads are necessary in managed forests, SAF also supports designation of wilderness areas and other protected roadless areas on national forests and other federal lands, provided that such classifications are determined following opportunities for public comment through processes established under the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976, the Wilderness Act of 1964, or through other acts of Congress or federal agency rules." The Idaho Roadless Rule is consistent with this because it identifies 5 classes of protection for 9.3 million acres of undeveloped areas in Idaho’s national forests on a continuum, and the Forest Service's proposal to adopt the Idaho Roadless Rule is going through the agency’s formal rulemaking process. The IESAF position statement responds to the agency’s request for public comment as part of that process.

*See http://www.safnet.org/policyandpress/psst/Roadsmgdfor1104.pdf 

Regards, 
Jay

Jay O’Laughlin
IESAF Forest Policy Committee Chair 
phone 208-885-5776; email jayo at uidaho.edu

P.S. to Bill Berrigan: Phil Anderson was at the Jan 19 meeting and can address questions about this. 


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