PROTECTING PUBLIC LANDS; FOREST SERVICE'S CALL FOR A MINING BAN IS A WELCOME CHANGE.(A SECTION)(Editorial)

The temporary ban that the U.S. Forest Service is seeking on hard rock mining in what is called America's Serengeti is promising. Coupled with other policies that the Forest Service has initiated, it appears to signal a shift in the agency's historical resistance to change.

Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck recently announced plans to ask the Interior Department to impose a mining moratorium on 429,000 acres of national forest system lands in Montana's Rocky Mountain Front Range. The moratorium, which could last at least two years while a permanent ban is considered, is intended to save the expansive region for wildlife, recreational opportunities and scenic vistas. …