But the respite will likely be only temporary. Officials from Utah's Public Lands Policy Coordination Office told a group of rural county commissioners here Wednesday that the state will likely follow through and file its petition, albeit through a different process.
"The big concern I keep hearing is that we've got to manage these forests," said Lynn Stevens, director of the state's Public Lands Policy Coordination Office. "I don't see any reason for any more restrictive designations."
That was certainly the refrain of the gathered commissioners, who are seeking to quash the Forest Service's roadless designation in order to open up more of the forest and boost their economies through timber and energy development.
Utah's roadless petition, at least in its draft form, seeks to do just that, calling for the elimination of all roadless restrictions and relying on the Forest Service's planning process - with input from local officials - to guide land-use decisions.
"This petition is our best shot," said Uintah County Commissioner Mike McKee.
But the Utah petition has drawn fierce opposition from environmental groups, who regard the state's 4 million acres of roadless forest - roughly half of the state's 8 million acre national forest inventory - as one of Utah's natural crown jewels and a vital watershed and wildlife repository.
"The only thing served by Utah submitting this petition is to undo what little protections are in place and increase state and county control over how the forests are managed," said Kevin Mueller, executive director of the Utah Environmental Congress, a Forest Service watchdog group.
By contrast, Idaho's petition, submitted last week, calls for more than 3 million acres of roadless forest protection, and another 5.5 million acres where only temporary roads could be built.
The current state of the petition process, however, is muddled.
Created in the waning days of the Clinton administration, the 2001 Roadless Rule essentially fenced off almost 50 million acres of roadless national forest lands from future development, though numerous exceptions were written into the rule.
What has ensued is a game of legal ping pong. A Wyoming federal judge declared the Clinton rule illegal in 2003. Last year, Bush repealed his predecessor's policy altogether, replacing it with the current petition process. But all that was cast aside in September, when a California judge ruled that the Bush policy violated federal environmental laws.
Now, Wyoming has gone back to court seeking a reinstatement of the original ruling quashing the Clinton rule. The whole issue appears headed for multiple appeals, and could wind up in the Supreme Court. At least for now, though, the Clinton rule remains in effect. In the wake of that decision, the Department of Agriculture has recommended that states file petitions under another process known as the Administrative Procedures Act. Colorado and Idaho have already done so.
Even if the petition process ends up in a lengthy waiting game - the Department of Agriculture has yet to render a decision on any submitted petitions - Utah officials believe they should follow suit.
"The gain is if you have something that makes sense and it [becomes] a rule, that will make it difficult to change," said John Harja, an assistant director in the state's Public Lands Policy Coordination Office.
jbaird@sltrib.com
