In January 1998, Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck announced plans for a road-building moratorium in many of our nation's remaining unspoiled national forest areas. (Twenty-six forests were exempted under the proposal, including forests in the Pacific Northwest and the Tongass National Forest in Alaska.) The announcement spurred months of public debate on the many values of roadless areas, including watershed protection, wildlife habitat, and backcountry recreational opportunities. The Forest Service received more than 60,000 comments on the moratorium, the vast majority calling for permanent protection of these last roadless areas.

During consideration of H.R. 2515, the Forest Recovery and Protection Act of 1998, Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) offered an amendment to exempt roadless areas covered by the administration's policy from the effects of the bill. On March 27, 1998, the House adopted the amendment, 200 - 187, but a subsequent parliamentary maneuver prevented it from being attached to H.R. 2515. YES is the pro-environment vote. H.R. 2515 was later defeated in the vote on final passage (See House vote 2).