Easley petitions for protection of forests

Land in Pisgah forest included in the acres N.C. wants preserved

The Associated Press

Gov. Mike Easley petitioned the federal government yesterday to protect nearly 174,000 acres of pristine national-forest land in North Carolina from development.

“These forest areas are vital not only for their natural beauty and the recreational opportunities they offer, but also for their environmental benefits, including providing clean water and wildlife habitat,” Easley said in a statement. “They are unique places of unspoiled wilderness and beauty, and must be protected and preserved.”

Before leaving office in January 2001, President Clinton issued the Roadless Area Conservation Rule in an effort to do just that. Under the rule, development and road building would be banned on almost one-third of the nation’s 192 million acres of national-forest land.

The Bush administration repealed the rule last year and issued a new policy requiring states to work with U.S. Forest Service officials to devise management plans for individual forests. The revisions could allow road construction and commercial logging on 58 million acres nationally.

The change also requires states to file petitions declaring how much protection they want for their forests.

The North Carolina petition, filed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, seeks to protect 173,910 acres of land, including 100,480 acres in the Pisgah National Forest in Western North Carolina, 52,650 acres in the Nantahala National Forest and 20,780 acres in the Croatan National Forest near Jacksonville.

“We welcome his petition,” said Dan Jiron, a spokesman for the Forest Service. “We’re glad that he is taking part in this process.”

The Southern Environmental Law Center praised Easley’s decision to file the petition.

“I know that the thousands of North Carolinians who want these roadless areas protected are proud of the stand Governor Easley has taken today,” said Derb Carter, the director of the Southern Environmental Law Center’s office in Chapel Hill.

Easley has also opposed a separate proposal from the Bush administration to sell more than 300,000 acres of national forests and other public land to help pay for rural schools in 41 states. That proposal includes about 10,000 acres in North Carolina.

Since 1998, North Carolinians have submitted more than 50,000 comments to the Forest Service in support of protecting the areas covered by the petition, according to Easley’s office.