Changes to Environmental Policy Act Threaten National Forests
Imagine this scenario - one of your favorite trails passes through a stand of 80-year-old Douglas fir or cedar on its way to the summit. You enjoy this little section for the dappled forest light, the clean water in the stream running alongside the trail, the ferns and lichens growing on the rocks all around you. It's a forest idyll, a prelude to wherever you're headed. The next time you go there, a lot of the trees have flagging tape tied around them. And the next time, they're gone.
Welcome to the bad old days. In the past, land managers could log and mine on National Forests with little or no need to involve the public or conduct environmental reviews. That is, until 1970, when President Nixon signed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) into law. Since then, NEPA has played an enormous role in federal land management, requiring Forest and Park staff to conduct stringent environmental reviews, including environmental impact statements (EIS) before conducting ground-disturbing activities. These reviews are time-consuming and expensive, but are an attempt to take the needs of flora, fauna, and the landscape into account as Forest and Park staff make their decisions.
NEPA has been reviewed four times in its 35 year history, and has not been changed in that time. WTA works with land managers who are carrying out NEPA reviews on new trail projects, and we appreciate the opportunity that NEPA review gives hikers when it comes to commenting on and influencing Forest and Park actions.
This year, Congress has signaled that they are interested in making changes to NEPA, much as was done to the regulations which guide implementation of the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) in December 2004. Such change to NEPA could make it easier to log, mine, and otherwise use National Forests.
Washington Trails Association's (WTA) concern is this: The wildlands that hikers depend on owe much to environmental laws passed that have ensured their preservation. When we undertake activities on public lands, even activities such as trail building, we're changing the landscape. There's not a whole lot of wild land left in this country. NEPA is an opportunity to take a long, hard look at what we're doing on the ground, and what the implications are. It is an opportunity to make the right decision the first time, and to have the whole public involved. We would much rather have that opportunity and suffer a delay in the implementation of our project, rather than have new projects slide right through - but lose the wild landscape that makes them so extraordinary.
For more information on NEPA and how to get involved, e-mail jonathan@wta.org or call 206-625-1367.
