On May 5,2005, the Forest Service announced the release of its new regulations regarding the management of inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest System, The rules became effective when published in the Federal Register on May 13, 2005. 70 Fed. Reg. 25,654 (May 13,2005) (to be codified at 36 C.F.R. pt. 294). The final rules are substantially similar to the draft rules promulgated by the Forest Service on July 16,2004. 69 Fed. Reg. 42,636 (July 16,2004). For previous discussions of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, see Vol. XXI, No. 3, at 6 (2004), and Vol. XX, No. 3, at 4 (2003), of this Newsletter, The new regulations lift the general prohibition on road construction or reconstruction on approximately 58.5 million acres of inventoried National Forest roadless areas that had been imposed by the Forest Service Roadless Rule in January 2001 shortly before President Clinton left office. In addition to returning the management of inventoried roadless areas to the management prescriptions contained in forest plans for individual units within the Forest Service System, the final rules allow governors of states containing inventoried roadless areas the opportunity to file petitions with the Secretary of Agriculture to alter the way inventoried roadless areas located in their states are managed under existing forest plans. Petitions filed by state governors must contain detailed information regarding the current conditions in the inventoried roadless areas, the current management structure for the inventoried roadless areas, and recommendations of how the inventoried roadless areas should be managed in the future. The description of the proposed future management must also include a description of the differences between the proposed management structure and the existing management structure for the roadless areas as well as a description of how the proposed management structure compares to existing state or local land conservation policies. Finally, each petition must contain information regarding how the proposed management structure would affect fish and wildlife in the inventoried roadless areas and information regarding the public involvement undertaken by the governor to develop the new proposed management direction.
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