Legislative Background
Recent Action on the Roadless Rule
In February 2001, shortly after President George W. Bush took office, then-Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman announced that the Administration was postponing, until May 12, 2001, the effective date of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule promulgated by President Bill Clinton in one of his last acts as President.On May 9, 2001, 26 senators sent a letter to President Bush asking him to uphold the roadless rule. On May 10, however, a U.S. District Court judge in Idaho issued a preliminary injunction to postpone implementation of the rule, citing its "irreparable harm" to Federal forests. Environmental groups appealed the decision.While the Roadless…
