Many readers of the Ozark Sierran will remember our campaign to get Missourians to comment on the Forest Service Roadless Area Conservation Rule late in the Clinton administration. So many Missourians and other citizens wrote supporting that initiative that the comments were overwhelmingly in favor of roadless area protection. But as we know, President Bush has never let the voice of the people get in his way. Thus, when Bush was just barely “in office” on January 20, 2001, his administration delayed implementation of the rule which would have banned road building and most logging in identified roadless areas. Legal challenges have temporarily reinstated the ban but the Administration’s lack of support for the ban, and other rule-making changes the Bush administration is pursuing, place those roadless areas at risk.
Unfortunately, the Administration is doing more to increase roads and motorized traffic on our public lands. The Clinton administration initiated a process to reduce and eventually ban snowmobile recreation in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park. But again the Bush administration took action in November 2002 to terminate that effort. Instead it introduced a “compromise” which reduced the number of snowmobiles in the parks on traditionally busiest days. But that “compromise” actually increases the number of snowmobiles permitted in the parks overall.
Many roads on Forest Service land are connected with logging. The Bush administration has announced plans to exempt millions of acres of National Forest land from environmental review, in order to speed up logging projects under the guise of reducing fire risks. Much of that logging will involved the creation of new roads or the opening up of roads that would get little use otherwise.
Another Bush administration action that could lead to increased roads on public lands was unveiled on Christmas eve 2002. That regarded a new rule involving rights-of-way on public lands. The rule applies to claims filed under Revised Statute 2477of the Lode Mining Act of 1866. This antiquated rule would allow states to claim rights of way on old abandoned roads and paths, claiming that they were historic rights of way. The Bush approach paves the way for some of these unresolved claims to be honored, regardless if the right of way is through a National Park, federally designated Wilderness, or sensitive habitat. Utah, Alaska, and California are the states most likely to be effected by this outrageous loophole.
If you want to know more about why we should care about roads on our public lands,
a recently released book entitled No Place Distant ( Island Press) by David Havlick does an excellent job of summarizing those concerns. Mr. Havlick lives in Montana and is described as a
“roads scholar” for the Predator Conservation Alliance. He has certainly done his research well.
In addition to describing the ecological effects of roads, Mr. Havlick looks at the history of
roads on public lands, their role in opening up those lands and then also degrading them.
He examines the politics and finances behind the funding and promotion of public lands roads.
No Place Distant is readable and relevant and full of too much valuable information to do more than just summarize here. First a few amazing statistics. There are 550,000 miles of official roads on public lands and another 200,000 miles of unclassified roads. Compare that to the interstate highway system of only 43,000 miles.
What are all those roads for and why are they there? Most are remnants of logging roads, while others are well traveled paved roads. Paved or unpaved, well traveled or remote, these roads have an ecological impact. Havlick describes these impacts in two general categories: those impacts arising from the use of roads and those arising from their mere existence, which he calls presence effects. Obvious use effects are road kill, access for hunting and poaching, access for other recreational uses, and extractive industries. Other effects are increased distribution of alien species and a higher risk of fire. Some effects such as erosion and runoff are both use and presence effects. Even without use, roads provide a corridor for invasive species and as a barrier for other species. Traffic, of course, causes noise and air pollution. Havlick describes the increase in motorized recreation that both builds on existing roads and promotes additional ones.
Our public lands are precious and popular places. All uses introduce some impacts. How we enjoy those lands and protect the natural habitat and process on those lands is a major challenge. Mr. Havlik’s book is an excellent source for understanding how roads fit into that puzzle.