By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Juab County approved the work that the county planning commission has been doing to make certain that the county participates in the Governor’s Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office petition. One particular set of Forest Service regulations is commonly known as the “Roadless Rule,” which regulates the number of roads in a forest. Although the rule is intended to protect forests, Gov. Gary Herbert said in a speech last month at the Utah Rural Summit, that the rule has led to overgrown and unhealthy forests filled with dead trees. “The county planning commission has been working to respond to the state’s request to get behind the initiative,” said Glenn Greenhalgh, county planning commission director. “We will need a motion to approve the draft,” said Greenhalgh. “We also need to direct the planning commission to add the result to the county resource management plan.” “Are we giving up anything?” asked Woodland. “We need the right of management. We need that.” Greenhalgh said the planning commission has been working on modifications they think need to be made locally. The request to work on the initiative that will lead to the petition being submitted by the state was first delivered to Byron Woodland, commissioner who then passed the request to Greenhalgh because of his experience. “The state hopes a workable petition will be ready to submit to the U.S. Department of Agriculture officials by the end of December,” said Greenhalgh.”Our deadline to respond is the first of November.” In a presentation to the county commission Tuesday, Greenhalgh said there were different roadless areas within Juab County and the recommendation of the planning commission was based on what level of management they thought the county should have in each area. Juab County has been asked to review the roadless areas within its jurisdiction and designate them in one of four categories: 1. primitive, 2. forest restoration, 3. forest stewardship or 4. as an area that should be removed from the roadless rule. Carlton said he thought the county should recommend that nothing less than forest restoration or forest stewardship be considered. Commissioners agreed to recommend all of the county’s areas be labeled as forest stewardship or forest restoration areas to allow for temporary or permanent road construction for forest health reasons. Woodland said he had been in some of the areas being considered on rescues with the sheriff’s posse. He agreed that there should be nothing less than the category of forest restoration. His experience with government entities, said Carlton, lead him to request that the planning commission look over the categories or levels they had assigned to certain areas and then to ask for the next level up or to ask for more. “One political party will ask for more and the other political party will make them back off,” he said. “If we ask for more, we will be better off. We are fair people and we will ask for more and will get a compromise.” “I am comfortable with that,” said Greenhalgh. After the planning commission was done with their recommendations, it was up to the county commission to make a final determination on what the county would like to be allowed in those areas. “It is the governor office’s petition and they’ve asked the counties to weigh in on how we like those areas classified, and that’s what we are doing here,” he said. The Roadless Rule was developed through an extensive public comment process during the Clinton Administration. Along with the 1964 Wilderness Act and the 1980 Alaska Lands Act, the Roadless Rule is considered to be one of the most significant conservation actions ever taken by the federal government. In his talk, Herbert said it’s time for Utah to petition the U.S. Forest Service for a new Utah-specific roadless rule. “Utah is patterning their modifications on those put into place in Idaho,” said Greenhalgh. Better management techniques such as targeted prescribed burns and the harvesting of dead trees could help mitigate the problem, but Utah’s hands are often tied due to federal regulations, leaving a sizable percentage of its forest lands essentially unmanageable. Under the changes being suggested, forest managers would have the tools needed to improve the health of Utah forests and thereby reduce forest fire risk. In his speech, Herbert said there is no hidden agenda behind the proposed petition. “This is not some kind of a backdoor approach to creating more ATV trails out there.” he said. “We’re trying to create healthier forests.” Herbert invited those with differing points of view to bring them forward. “We want to hear them,” he said, noting that input will be solicited from various stakeholders over the next few months as plans are considered. The Governor’s Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office petition says the administration under former President Bill Clinton did not take into account the state’s “unique forests and needs” when it approved the roadless rule in 2001, according to the governor’s office. The rule establishes prohibitions on the construction of roads and timber harvesting on 58.5 million acres within the national forests, according to the Forest Service. Idaho and Colorado are the only other states with rules specific to the national forests within their boundaries. The U.S. Forest Service is currently working with Alaska to establish similar regulations. The governor’s office has suggested that a state-specific version of the rule would allow the Forest Service to more effectively manage the forest to prevent catastrophic wildfires. “After we turn in our recommendations,” said Greenhalgh, “I think that the state will acknowledge that we know the area.”
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