But today, Interior Secretary Salazar is opposing a court challenge from environmentalists to block the leases.
A Interior spokesman declined to comment on the department's position, but other officials noted that negotiations are underway on a possible out-of-court settlement, and the government's hand in these negotiations may be stronger if it continues to fight in court.
Administration lawyers have also fought environmentalists in court over a coal mining technique known as mountaintop removal.
The administration successfully argued this year that the court should reject the environmentalists' suit, in part because officials were already developing new standards for mountaintop mining projects.
They announced the standards last week, though many environmentalists criticized them for doing too little to protect against water pollution and other effects of mountaintop mining.
In the road-building case, the governor and the attorney general of Oregon urged the federal government in a letter last week to drop its opposition to a court ruling that tossed out Bush's roadless policy and reinstated Clinton-era protections.
"Obviously, we'd love for the Obama administration to withdraw the appeal," Oregon Atty. Gen. John Kroger said in a telephone interview, "or otherwise help us to get the right rule."
Administration officials say they are committed to protecting roadless areas but have decided to pursue the goal through policymaking rather than in the courts. As part of that effort, the Agriculture Department last month announced a de facto one-year moratorium on development in most roadless areas.
In broad terms, administration officials say relying on court cases to deal with such issues entails greater delays and uncertainties.
"Our judgment is, we're going to have these court cases for a long time to come, and therefore we'd have uncertainty for a long time to come," said Robert Bonnie, a senior advisor in the Agriculture Department, which is responsible for a large proportion of federal forest lands.
Some environmental groups warn, however, that there is a risk to the strategy of opposing an issue to ultimately support it.
If the courts agree with the government and allow the building of more roads in wilderness areas, the administration could face enormous difficulties in achieving its ultimate goal of keeping the roads out.
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jtankersley@latimes.com
