Washington, D.C. – The following is a written statement by Shannon Collier, Policy Analyst at Taxpayers for Common Sense on the introduction of the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2003, introduced today by Representatives Sherwood L. Boehlert (R-NY) and Jay Inslee (D-WA) with 153 original co-sponsors:

New bipartisan legislation introduced today will increase taxpayer protection from the burden of unchecked, federally subsidized road construction and logging. The new legislation will limit the growth of an already out-of-control $10 billion backlog for road and bridge capitol improvement and maintenance needs.

The Forest Service has consistently failed to make road maintenance a priority for the national forest road system and has proven time and again that it is unable to maintain the current infrastructure. The $10 billion backlog of road and bridge maintenance and capitol improvements has reached epic proportions. Currently, taxpayers pay for almost all road maintenance in national forests, yet more than 80% of national forest roads remain inaccessible to most Americans.

The bill introduced today will help the Forest Service concentrate its efforts on repairing existing roads instead of building new ones. In these times of record deficits, the Forest Service needs to implement a “fix it first ” strategy of maintaining its current transportation infrastructure before spending taxpayer dollars to construct new roads.

Many roadless areas have remained roadless because of the high cost associated with accessing timber in these areas, which is often of poor quality. If these areas were to be developed, the costs of subsidizing timber sales, road construction, and maintenance would greatly outweigh the revenues generated by the sale of federal timber.

Contact: Keith Ashdown
(202) 546-8500 x110