Most new roads in national forests banned for now

"The Obama administration waded into a nearly decadelong debate over roadless areas in national forests Thursday, announcing what amounts to a timeout from most new logging and development in pristine areas across the West," Jim Tankersley reports for the Los Angeles Times.

In ordering a one-year delay of proposed roads, a delay that be extended for another year, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack shifts "decisions about development in roadless areas away from U.S. Forest Service officials and requires that he approve all new projects," Tankersley writes. "Agriculture Department officials cast the order as a procedural timeout and said they expected Vilsack to approve some projects that meet the administration's standards for responsible forest practices. They noted that the move exempted national forests in Idaho, which has developed its own plan to manage roadless areas." (Read more)