Administration's RAREtr plan hit

The American Plywood Association says President Carter's recommendations on RARE II don't go far enough to meet the nation's growing need for timber, oil, gas and developed recreation.

But APA adds that the President's April 16, statement on the Agriculture Department's second national forest Roadless Area Review and Evaluation "is more balanced than we have previously seen from the Administration, given its past track record heavily favoring environmentalists. "

Stating this, APA exec. v.p. Bronson J. Lewis said that in addins about 400,000 more acres of wilderl ness to the recommendation of Agriculture Secretary Berglandwho urged designation of 15 million acres of national forest roadless lands as wilderness"the President is ignoring the many Western Governors who called for less wilderness than the Secretary recom- mended. He is also makins it more difficult for the nation to- achieve the increased timber production goals for the 1980s prescribed in the Renewable Resources Plannins Act."

Lewis praised President Carter, however, "for declining to follow grossly excessive wilderness recommendations of the Interior Department, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Council on Environmental Quality and other preservation-oriented departments of the Administration."

Lewis noted that swift resolution of the RARE II issue "must be a top priority for the Congress, which for several years past has been preoccupied with the expansion of the wilderness system."

He said that through the RARE II process, "the public is now telling Congress it's time for priority to be restored to the release of lands urgently needed for increased domestic production of timber, oil, gas and other energy-important resources, as well as providing more developed recreation and other multiple uses of the national forests. "

President Carter has recommended wilderness designation for about 15.4 million acres of RARE II lands. He has already sent to Congress, wilderness recommendations for lands in the two national forests of Alaska, including 5.5 million acres identified in RARE II. He has also now recommended wilderness designation for about 9.9 million additional acres of 118 national forest systems in 35 other states and Puerto Rico. He has urged release of 36 million acres of RARE II study lands for multiple uses other than wilderness, and has suggested "further planning" for 10.6 million acres of RARE II lands.