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The public debate about roads on the National Forests : an analysis of the new media : 1994-98

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Roads and road building on the US national forests have become the focus of intense public debate in recent years. Timber companies and others argue that forest roads are an essential transportation system for the production of commodities that society needs. Environmentalists and others reply that national forest roads constitute ecologically destructive "corporate welfare." Recreation is the main use of national forest roads (Coghlan and Sowa 1998), but recreationists sharply disagree about their appropriate role. For enthusiasts of motorized recreation, forest roads are an integral part of the recreation experience, not just means of access. For wilderness recreationists, the mere presence of roads can be antithetical to the recreation experience.

Keywords

National forests, Roads, Policy, Public opinion, Mass media

Citation

Bengston, David N.; Fan, David P. 1999. The public debate about roads on the National Forests : an analysis of the new media : 1994-98. Journal of forestry. Vol. 97, no. 8 (Aug. 1999).:p. 4-10 : ill., col. map.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/12164