Dominick DellaSala plans to participate in Wednesday's inventoried-roadless-area comment workshop in Medford called by Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski. But the executive director of the National Center for Conservation Science & Policy in Ashland, citing overwhelming support for the 2001 Roadless Area Protection Rule adopted by the Clinton administration, is making a prediction on the outcome.

"We think the turnout will support protecting roadless areas," he said. "The public wants them protected."

As evidence, he noted that of the roughly 2 million comments made nationally in 2000 for Clinton's roadless rule, more than 90 percent called for protecting those areas.

A forest ecologist, DellaSala noted there are now 400,000 miles of roads in the nation's national forests. Those roads put sediment in streams and provide an ignition point for human-caused wildfires, he added.

"We are chipping (away) at the last of the big wild areas," he said of the potential threat to roadless areas. "They are the last areas that provide clean water, wild salmon, untrampled landscape and a sense of solitude in a sea of machines and noise we surround ourselves (with) in our day-to-day lives."

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Kulongoski plans to petition the U.S. Forest Service regarding management of inventoried roadless areas in Oregon's national forests, a process provided in the roadless rule the Bush administration adopted in 2005. That policy gave state governors 18 months to urge either the protection of forestlands or the opening of them for development. The deadline for the petitions is mid-November.

"I want to hear from Oregonians about the value of our roadless areas," Kulongoski said in a prepared statement. "Oregonians should be the ones determining the future of our forestlands. These 2 million acres are part of every Oregonian's natural heritage."

Kulongoski has made it clear that he wants to protect the inventoried roadless areas. The governor asked the U.S. Forest Service to halt plans for salvage logging in two roadless areas burned during the 2002 Biscuit fire in the Siskiyou portion of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest until the petition process is completed. His request was denied.

There are nearly 2 million acres of inventoried roadless areas in Oregon's national forests, including some 368,000 acres in the Rogue River-Siskiyou forest. The inventoried roadless areas are in blocks of more than 5,000 acres.

Kulongoski and the governors of Washington, California and New Mexico have sued the federal government to reinstate the 2001 roadless rule.The suit alleges that the Bush administration violated the National Environmental Protection Act by failing to provide an adequate public process for the rules change.

Despite DellaSala's optimism, there is opposition to the preserving the roadless areas.

The American Forest Resource Council, which represents nearly 90 wood product manufacturers and forest landowners in 12 Western states, took the governor to task for his stance.

"The governor's roadless view ignores the fact that catastrophic wildfires do not recognize roadless area boundaries, just as they don't recognize wilderness boundaries, private property boundaries or critical habitat designations," it concluded in a statement released this past week.

"Oregon's forests, its rural counties, and the remaining forest products infrastructure are at risk as the Governor promotes his policy of hands-off, let it burn forest mismanagement," it concluded.

In at letter sent to Kulongoski early this month, Mike Draper, Western District Vice President of the United Brotherhood of Carpenter and Joiners of America, the three roadless workshops being held statewide could be perceived by some as providing "political cover" for a decision the governor has already made. Draper suggested an advisory committee be created to provide suggestions on the petition.

But countless others, including the Oregon Wildlands Alliance, a coalition of businesses, hunters, anglers, scientists, environmental activists and others, have come out in support of the process. They have stressed the issue is not about logging, but protecting the state's biological diversity and watershed.

Eagle Point resident Mike Beagle, Trout Unlimited field coordinator for Oregon and Washington, believes roadless areas should be preserved.

"In our view, as well as my personal view, they are outstanding reservoirs of habiitat for freshwater and anadromous fish as well as great habitat for Rocky Mountain elk, mule deer and big horn sheep," said the avid hunter and fisherman. "These critters as well as others need space."

Roadless areas provide areas a refuge where they aren't pressured by people as much as they are in areas where there are roads, he said.

A study by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, looking at three areas in Idaho, determined that there are more and bigger bull elk in roadless areas, he said.

"We just want to hold onto what we have," Beagle said of hunting and fishing areas in Oregon. States like Montana and Idaho that have large roadless areas are the "envy of the hunting world," he said.

"For us, it's a no-brainer," he added. "Besides, we can't pay for the maintenance of the roads we have. It doesn't make a lot of sense to push for new ones."

Jim DiPeso, policy director for Republicans for Environmental Protection, agreed.

"Roadless forests provide numerous important benefits for Americans, including clean water and good places to go hunting and fishing," he said. "Keeping these areas free of roads does taxpayers a favor, because of the high cost of building and maintaining forest roads that often have little permanent value."

Forested roadless areas benefit a state's economy and quality of life, he said.

Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or at pfattig@mailtribune.com

Voice your opinion:

Gov. Ted Kulongoski's two-hour roadless-area workshop begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Medford City Hall, 411 W. Eighth St.

A similar session was held in La Grande Friday. Another has been scheduled for Portland on Monday.

Those attending the sessions will be able to review maps and characteristics of Oregon's roadless areas and submit comment cards. A link on the governor's Web site — governor.oregon.gov — also leads to the comment form.

Oregonians have until Sept. 8 to comment on the petition Kulongoski must submit by mid November.

"The governor wants to use this input to support his petition on roadless areas," said Lonn Hoklin, communications director for the governor.

In addition to the public comment period for the petition, officials from the governor's office will assess public input received concerning the 2001 roadless rule. Of 79,000 comments submitted by Oregonians regarding that rule, about 92 percent supported the complete protection of all roadless areas, Hoklin noted.

The governor is working with the Oregon Department of Forestry and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop the petition, he added.