By Alex Craven, Our Wild America Organizer
The Roadless Rule (formally known as the Roadless Area Conservation Policy) was issued in 2001 by President Clinton shortly before he left office. It made significant changes in prohibiting road construction, road reconstruction, and timber harvesting on 58.5 million acres of inventoried roadless areas (IRAs). The intent of the Rule was - and still is - to provide lasting protection for these IRAs in the National Forest System, and it has served its purpose well.
Unsurprisingly, over the years it has come under assault by those seeking to roll back protections and pursue extractive industries on National Forests. The latest series of attempts to weaken the Roadless Rule came from Alaska. After attempts from elected officials to undermine the Roadless Rule in Congress failed, the State of Alaska petitioned the US Department of Agriculture for an ‘Alaska state-specific’ version of the rule. USDA granted the request in August of 2018, setting a very dangerous precedent Shortly after that, Utah followed suit, asking for its own ‘state-specific’ version of the Roadless Rule.
To be clear, we are talking about Federally-managed forests owned by all Americans, and undermining the Roadless Rule in any state is an issue of national significance.
While these threats to Roadless Areas are of serious concern, it is encouraging to know that Washington State’s own Senator Maria Cantwell introduced a bill to codify the Roadless Rule at the beginning of the month. If passed, this bill would permanently protect 58.5 million acres of roadless national forest in 39 states. This means safeguarding watersheds that provide clean water for 60 million Americans, saving taxpayers millions of dollars by limiting new road construction, and preserving some of our most iconic landscapes.
Senator Cantwell’s efforts - to protect our landscapes and the species and communities who rely on them - benefit all of us as public lands owners.