WASHINGTON — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said his choice to lead the U.S. Forest Service would uphold the administration’s protections of roadless forests, despite helping to craft a less-restrictive policy while serving as a top environmental official in Colorado.

The White House announced last week that it would nominate Harris Sherman as USDA undersecretary for natural resources and the environment, which oversees the U.S. Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service. Sherman is executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. 

At issue is the so-called “roadless rule,” put in place by President Bill Clinton at the end of his tenure, which blocked most logging and construction in forests where roads haven’t been built. Vilsack said the Obama administration has unambiguously supported that policy. 

“We’ve made it very clear we are supportive of the Clinton roadless rule,” Vilsack said. “(Sherman) will be working for me and working for President Obama, and people should be very clear about what our position has been and will continue to be.” 

As head of Colorado’s Department of Natural Resources, Sherman created a state roadless plan that environmental groups have said is weaker than the federal rule. 

Idaho is the only state to have completed its own roadless policy, but Colorado, under Gov. Bill Ritter, is in the midst of crafting a state plan. 

“He’s working for a governor, and I don’t want to be specifically critical of Governor Ritter because they’re in the process of continuing to work on their roadless rule,” Vilsack said. “We have blessed the Idaho process and encouraged Governor Ritter to continue talking to groups in Colorado.” 

Earlier this year, Vilsack announced that all decisions about development in roadless areas would have to clear his office. The rule has been the subject of a contentious legal fight. Most recently, a federal appeals court reinstated the rule in August. 

‘Mixed message’? 

Some environmentalists, including Andy Stahl of Eugene-based Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, have been critical of Sherman’s history as an attorney whose firm represented developers and resorts, among other clients. 

“I don’t think it sends a mixed message about the roadless rule, I think it sends a mixed message about almost everything else regarding natural resource policy,” Stahl said. “He’s a man who throughout his career has worked almost primarily for development interests.” 

Sherman will need to be confirmed by the full U.S. Senate. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., gave Sherman a brief, but positive, review in a statement on Monday. Wyden chairs the forestry subcommittee of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which will likely hold a hearing on his nomination sometime this year. 

“In Harris Sherman, the president has nominated someone whose experience crosses a variety of natural resource issues affecting Oregon,” Wyden said. “I’ll be very involved in his confirmation process, and I will be looking to see if Mr. Sherman plans to be a forceful advocate for breaking the gridlock that has stalled progress in the Northwest for almost two decades.” 

As a member of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Sherman was the driving force behind revising and dramatically improving the state’s permitting rules to include consideration of wildlife, public health and the environment, several environmental groups told The Associated Press last week. 

Ritter told the AP that Sherman understands the responsibilities that come with his job, calling him “tireless in his dedication and commitment to leaving this state better than we found it.” 

About 2 million acres of national forest in Oregon are inventoried as roadless, according to the U.S. Forest Service. 

Sherman’s résumé also concerned Oregon Wild Conservation Director Steve Pedry. But Pedry said Sherman’s actions once he’s in office are more important. 

“He certainly wasn’t our first choice, but we’re willing to give him the benefit of the doubt if he’s going to faithfully execute the direction he’s been given,” Pedry said. 

Beetle project 

One early test could be the D-Bug project proposed in a roadless area near Diamond Lake in the Umpqua National Forest, Pedry said. The Forest Service has proposed thinning or logging more than 8,000 acres of beetle-killed forests, including 1,200 acres in roadless areas, according to a project proposal on the agency Web site. Umpqua forest managers said the work is critical to prevent the spread of pine beetles and stop major wildfires before they occur. 

“Forest Service entomologists predict that the present infestation on the north and west shores of Diamond Lake will spread to other areas, and that this could happen quickly,” a 2007 report by forest managers stated. “An abundance of dead trees poses hazards to people from toppling snags in campgrounds and other concentrated human use areas and from fuel accumulation adding to the fire hazard.” 

Pedry doesn’t disagree that beetles have infested the area, but argued that the site’s distance from populated areas makes the work unnecessary. 

“Are you going to spend (fuels reduction money) in the backcountry 40 miles from the nearest town, or do you want to spend it near Sisters?” he said.

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