Voters support some roads in roadless areas

[Hangar18]

One excellent blow for de-facto wilderness.

Voters support some roads in roadless areas
Posted: Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006 - 12:42:17 am PDT
By JIM MANN
The Daily Inter Lake

Flathead County voters have once again shown a lopsided view of federal roadless areas, with 65 percent saying roadless lands “should be managed for multiple use purposes including motorized recreation and roaded timber production.”

With most of the votes counted, 7,796 voters supported that option, while 4,321 supported the alternative of managing roadless areas “for non-motorized recreation and roadless timber production.”

The results were comparable to those from a similar question asked of voters in Flathead, Lincoln and Sanders counties in 2000. But that ballot question was heavily criticized for being misleading.

The roadless ballot question appearing on primary election ballots Tuesday was developed by a task force appointed by the Flathead County commissioners. It does not provide binding direction for the U.S. Forest Service, but the results will be useful for those who want to influence Forest Service management of roadless areas.

“I guess the idea of this advisory question is to tell all of our elected officials, all the way up to Gov. Brian Schweitzer, what their constituents feel about these roadless areas, at least in Flathead County,” said Fred Hodgeboom, President of Montanans for Multiple Use.

Schweitzer will give the federal government official state input on roadless management questions. The Bush administration asked governors to submit petitions to the Forest Service by the end of year.

“We really want Gov. Schweitzer to pay attention to this,” said Hodgeboom, who says the upshot of the ballot question is that the Forest Service should have “flexibility” in managing roadless areas.

“I don’t think anybody, including Montanans for Multiple Use, wants to put roads in all these areas,” he said. “That’s out of the question. All we’re asking for is the flexibility for local, site-specific planning” in roadless areas.

The ballot question, he noted, also provides a strong rebuttal from Flathead County to claims that blanket protections for roadless areas are widely supported by the public.

Roadless protection advocates frequently point to the public comments that led to a Clinton administration rule providing blanket protections to roadless areas. That public comment process produced strong nationwide backing for the Clinton rule.

“We don’t believe that write-in campaign represented the mainstream public at all,” Hodgeboom said. “It was orchestrated by special interests.”

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at [email protected]

Copyright © 2006, The Daily Interlake

 

[BigHornRam]

“We don’t believe that write-in campaign represented the mainstream public at all,” Hodgeboom said. “It was orchestrated by special interests.”

Gee you think? But that doesn't matter anyways. Why should guys like the 3 fools care what the "mainstream public" think. There all idiots!

 

[The Hedgehog]

Hangar 18, yes that excellently blows. Roadless areas should be better appreciated. There are plenty of roads for the ORV crowds. I looked at the Montanans for Multiple Use website. They claim to have a concern with loosing access to public lands and say that "Multiple use of our forests is being replaced by no use." Why is it that some people's definition of "access" is being able to ATV somewhere? Montanans for Multiple Use... a clan of idiots.

 

[Hangar18]

Greenhorn - I agree. But they should not be managed as if they were congressionally designated wilderness. While this vote is virtually meaningless, it might send a message to elected officials that the public should be more involved, and that the FS should provide a better venue for public involvement. They tend to hold these "public" hearings and meetings in the middle of the day during the work week, where the only people that show up are jobless "activists" with trust-funds.

 

[JoseCuervo]

Hangar,
Wasn't there some sad statistic the last few weeks that said more people voted in American Idol than in the Bush v. Kerry election? I don't think "advisory votes" are an efficient way to tell elected officials what you want done. If all those Multiple Abuse promoters don't like the Bush Administration, they shouldn't have voted for him.

 

[noharleyyet]

Hangar,
Wasn't there some sad statistic the last few weeks that said more people voted in American Idol than in the Bush v. Kerry election? I don't think "advisory votes" are an efficient way to tell elected officials what you want done. If all those Multiple Abuse promoters don't like the Bush Administration, they shouldn't have voted for him.

Get your facts straight Jose, "idol votes (or more accurately, idle idiots voting as many times as they could dial)" do not compute to more voters.

...and evidently more voters disliked your boy John Heinz.

 

[Ten Bears]

Uh Oh, somebody didn't like the way this voting turned out. Multiple use lands always sounds good to me. I will be the first to agree that not every road needs to be open for ATV travel, but could you imagine the whining if roads and trails open to ATV travel were closed to foot travel???? (If you don't like my driving stay off the sidewalks).

 

[The Hedgehog]

Ten Bears, I agree that multiple use is good, but not in roadless areas. And by the way, I own a Honda 300 4-trax.

 

[Hangar18]

Hangar,
Wasn't there some sad statistic the last few weeks that said more people voted in American Idol than in the Bush v. Kerry election? I don't think "advisory votes" are an efficient way to tell elected officials what you want done. If all those Multiple Abuse promoters don't like the Bush Administration, they shouldn't have voted for him.

Do you have to be 18 to vote with a cell phone? And like NHY said, I think you meant to say "More votes were cast" rather than "More people voted"

 

[Ten Bears]

I know an area that I ride near/ around that is designated "
roadless" but is riddled with old roads. Is it roadless because it has no roads, or is it roadless because someone said it is...?????

 

[The Hedgehog]

10 bears, you should really appreciate what the concept of a "roadless" does for wildlife and hunting. From your remark, it's no surprise why folks don't want any new roads in unroaded areas.

The problem with old roads in designated roadless areas is that there's so many folks that rip it up on the motorbike or ATV, regardless of the gate or the regulations.

 

[1_pointer]

Roadless areas should be better appreciated. There are plenty of roads for the ORV crowds.

+1

 

[ELKCHSR]

It seems when the "voters" are voting for some thing to close the "environment" (environmental movement issues), it's a great thing and they (the public) know best, are well informed and very intelligent, but when the "voters vote for some thing such as this, their idiots and fools...

There are a lot of issues the voters shouldn't have any part in. Leaving the paid professionals to come up with answers

Kinda funny how this double edge sword can come back and cut those same people that now sit back and wonder how this kind of idiocy could come to pass

I will be very curious to see how this one plays out along with other environmental issues that come up in the future now that every one is learning how to play the game

 

[noharleyyet]

'Special Interests' can also be defined as 'Motivated Constituency'...it's agenda feeds on the malaise of the voter too apathetic to cast. I also see the voting 'everyman, aka...non-hunter' as interpreting the roadless aspect as 'hunter preferred'.

That said, I agree with Greeny's take.

 

[The Hedgehog]

Does it look like we need more roads in MT?

 

[JoseCuervo]

Is the best place to hunt in Montana one of those areas that is Red?

 

[The Hedgehog]

Jose, Actually you might be surprised. Some of the areas that are pretty red have some of the prime hunting. However, it's because it's private land, has restricted hunting by quota, or both.

However, the public land, such as the USFS land that is open to hunters with a general license, there is no doubt, the red rarely cooresponds to a hot-spot..

This map doesn't include the ATV trails which there are no shortage of, just the roads.

 

[1_pointer]

Elkchsr- Hate to break it to you but a county vote doesn't decide road or roadless designations on federal land.

 

[Ten Bears]

Back to my original question.

Is it roadless because it has no roads, or is it roadless because someone said it is...?????

 

[The Hedgehog]

Ten Bears, I think "roadless" in this discussion is a federal designation... so the answer would be "because someone says it is." I know of quite a few old roads in most of the wilderness areas around here. Most of the old roads have trees growing on them today.