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The Trump administration announced yesterday that it is taking the next step in rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule by opening a public comment period. The Roadless Rule currently protects nearly 60 million acres of national forest land.
The U.S. Forest Service will publish a notice in the Federal Register on Friday seeking public comment on its intention to develop an environmental impact statement for the proposed rescission of the rule. The notice will detail the reasons for rescinding the rule, the potential effects on people and resources, and how national forests and grasslands are managed.
The Roadless Rule was enacted by the Clinton administration in 2001 after years of work and record-breaking input from the public. It established lasting protection for specified areas within national forests by prohibiting road construction and logging which can destroy or disrupt habitats, increase erosion, and worsen sediment pollution in drinking water, among other impacts.
“Everyone who cares for America’s national parks and public lands should be deeply alarmed about attempts to dismantle the roadless rule,” said Beau Kiklis, Associate Director of Energy and Landscape Conservation for the National Parks Conservation Association. “This is nothing short of another brazen attempt to sell off America’s public lands, by opening up these forest lands for industrial logging, roadbuilding, and other development.”
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The Roadless Rule is one of the best ideas the U.S. Forest Service has ever had and repealing it is one of the worst... This move will literally pave the way for the timber industry to clearcut backcountry forests that house endangered wildlife and are source waters for important fisheries and communities.”
