Maurice Hinchey: “the national forest system was created nearly a century ago by President Theodore Roosevelt. He said he was creating it…”

“the national forest system was created nearly a century ago by President Theodore Roosevelt. He said he was creating it for the greatest good, for the greatest number in the long run, and that is something we should not forget. The roadless policy is necessary, unfortunately, because the Forest Service has failed to protect our forests in the public interest. Under their stewardship, 400,000 miles of logging roads have been built, while industrial activities have encroached on more than half of all the national forest lands. If my colleagues want to know where the fires are, look for where the roads have been built. That is where to find the fires. Where the so-called thinning has occurred, that is where to find the fires. So this whole business about building roads in order to prevent fires is totally bogus. Building new roads is a fiscal and environmental disaster. The Forest Service road construction and timber programs have been completely mismanaged. The Forest Service has an $8.4 billion road maintenance backlog. It cannot take care of the roads it has now. National forests in 16 States have a road maintenance backlog of more than $100 million in each and every one of those States. They cannot take care of the roads they have already built. Road building and commercial exploitation will leave behind impaired lands whose repair the taxpayers will have to finance.”