The roadless routine.

Byline: The Register-Guard

U.S. Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey wants Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski to know the Bush administration is willing to work with him on his petition to protect roadless national forests in his state.

How thoughtful.

As evidence of his benign intentions, Rey points to the administration's approval last week of requests from three Eastern governors to bar commercial logging in roadless areas in their states. "We've always been green," Rey said. "We just haven't gotten credit for it."

How reassuring.

If Rey is truly serious about honoring the wishes of Kulongoski and the vast majority of Oregonians who want to block logging and development in this state's remaining roadless forests, he should start by canceling the U.S. Forest Service's plans to allow logging of an area burned by the 2002 Biscuit Fire.

Kulongoski has repeatedly pleaded with the administration to halt the Mike's Gulch sale in the South Kalmiopsis roadless area on the Siskiyou National Forest. After a federal judge on Wednesday rejected an attempt by environmentalists to block logging of the 640-acre tract, Kulongoski resolved to seek a court order on his own.

Why is Kulongoski making such a fuss about the cutting of a mere 640 acres in the midst of a 500,000-acre burn? He rightly understands that the logging would undermine his bid to protect all of Oregon's roadless areas. If the Forest Service deems it desirable to log 640 roadless acres in the South Kalmiopsis, then there's nothing to prevent it from deciding to log 6,400 roadless acres elsewhere. Once the roadless dam has been breached, there's little likelihood of holding back the flood.

Rey insists the sale is necessary to speed recovery of the forest from the Biscuit Fire. What he really means is the administration is intent on ignoring the growing body of science that shows that post-fire logging can impede the recovery of forests and increase the risk of subsequent fires. By obstinately pushing ahead with the Mike's Gulch sale, the administration hopes to boost the sagging prospects of federal legislation that would fast-track logging in areas hit by wildfires and other natural disasters.

Clearly, the Bush administration also doesn't want to pass up a chance to punish Oregon for joining three other states in going to court to restore the Clinton-era roadless rule, which Bush repealed last year despite its popularity and the need to protect forests and watersheds.

The Mike's Gulch sale violates an earlier pledge by Rey to provide "interim protection" to roadless areas until the state petitioning process is complete. The Forest Service repeated that promise in announcing the decision to approve petitions from the governors of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia for preserving roadless areas: "During the state-petitioning process, the Forest Service will continue to maintain interim measures to conserve inventoried roadless areas."

If Mr. Rey and the Bush administration really want to be thoughtful, reassuring - and green - they should stop using Oregon to make political points to the rest of the nation. They should cancel the Mike's Gulch sale and approve Kulongoski's petition to protect all 2 million acres of roadless areas in Oregon.