For nearly 25 years, the Roadless Rule has protected millions of acres of national forests and grasslands from road construction and timber harvests.
This rule was established in response to public demand to keep backcountry areas accessible while allowing for recreation. According to the Forest Service, America’s national forests and grasslands comprise diverse ecosystems, historic landscapes, and public values. The rule has protected clean air and water, biodiversity, backcountry recreation, and helped fight climate change by storing carbon in old-growth forests.
Currently, with the rule in place, about half of the National Forest land is open to drilling, logging, and mining. Eighteen percent is protected as wilderness, and the remaining 30% is the amount of acres protected by this rule.
Rulemaking is supposed to be a cautious process, involving the public, and it has been in the past. For the original rule, there were more than 600 public hearings across the country, and the process allowed the public a full month to comment. The forest service received 1.6 million comments on the rule, the most ever received. A 2005 attempt to repeal it offered a two-month comment period, which was extended following public demand. The current public comment period lasts only two weeks until Sept 19.
To find more information about the Roadless Rule, go to the Forest Service website.
To comment, use one of the following methods:
- Electronically (preferred): Go to the notice posted on regulations.gov. After reading the notice, click on the Comment button.
- Mail: Hardcopy letters must be submitted to the Director, Ecosystem Management Coordination, 201 14th Street SW, Mailstop 1108, Washington, DC 20250-1124.
