USDA Forest Service Roadless Rule Repeal

The US Forest Service proposes to rescind a 25-year-old rule that protects 9.7 million acres of national forest lands in Wyoming from road-building and timber harvest. You have an opportunity to comment on this proposal by October 6th.

The Issue

Of the 9.7 million acres of national forests and grasslands in Wyoming, one-third (3.2 million acres) is managed as Inventoried Roadless Areas. These 110 roadless areas are found on all national forests in the state. Across the U.S. states and territories, nearly 45 million acres are managed as Inventoried Roadless Areas. Inventoried Roadless Areas are lands that lack roads and that may be suitable for management as wilderness areas or other non-standard management areas. Their management is regulated by the Forest Service’s 2001 Roadless Rule. Opponents of the Roadless Rule object to limitations on the economies of communities near national forests, and to the danger of uncontrolled wildfires. Proponents cite the benefits to fisheries, wildlife habitat, biological diversity, and dispersed recreation. In August, the Forest Service proposed a new rule that would rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule. According to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement that accompanies this newly proposed rule, road-building, logging, and motorized recreation will increase in Inventoried Roadless Areas, although the exact effects are uncertain.

Background

The 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule was promulgated mainly to control the amount of road-building in undeveloped areas by the Forest Service, which manages a road system with more miles than the US Interstate Highway System. The main rational was to minimize damage from road construction and maintenance and from automobile traffic, which degrade soils, water quality, and habitat for native plants and animals. In addition, the Roadless Rule expands the system of protected lands beyond the wilderness areas, National Parks, and preserves that protect rugged, beautiful, high-elevation areas that are difficult to develop, but that poorly represent mid-elevation ecosystems. The Roadless Rule limits but does not prevent multiple uses of roadless areas. It does not completely prohibit road construction or timber harvesting. Rather, it allows limited developments that address public health and safety, outstanding rights, mineral leases, resource damage, and stewardship.

The Roadless Rule has been controversial since its adoption. Proponents cite the benefits to undeveloped fisheries and wildlife habitat, biological diversity, and dispersed recreation. Opponents object to limitations on road building and timber harvesting that benefit economies in towns near national forests. With the increase in wildfires in recent years, opponents have especially emphasized the need for roads and logging to protect communities. The relationship between wildfires and roadless areas is not straightforward, though: data from across the U.S. and from Wyoming show that fires are more likely to start in roaded areas than in roadless areas, but fires in roaded areas are (on average) slightly smaller and are less likely to grow into large fires. Moreover, proponents of keeping the Roadless Rule point out that it allows local managers to implement developments that reduce wildfire risk.

What You Can Do

NOTE: The deadline for either of these steps is the end of the day, Tuesday, October 6th. (The deadline for comments was originally September 21st, but it has been extended to October 6th.)

Review the National Audubon Society’s alert and sign onto Audubon’s letter to the Forest Service, urging that the 2001 Roadless Rule NOT be rescinded.

Submit your own comment through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Points that you might make in your comment are: roadless areas, protected by the Roadless Rule, are important habitat for native plants and animals; the Roadless Rule allows local Forest Service managers flexibility to implement projects to reduce wildfire danger and protect communities; it is not at all clear that allowing roads in roadless areas will reduce wildfire risk.

You can read more about this issue here:

Forest Service Roadless Area webpage
Federal Register announcement of the newly proposed rule

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Our homecoming parade took place along the northern section of the Laramie River Greenbelt trail. Definitely migrant birds around but not quite a parade of songbirds. Ruby-crowned Kinglets were common, with a smattering of Wilson’s, Yellow-rumped, and Orange-crowned Warblers. We were alerted to a call of a Greater Yellowlegs, which we later found feeding in the river. Raptors were the stars of the morning. We had good looks at an adult Bald Eagle, a bathing Cooper’s Hawk, a young Northern Harrier, a hoovering American Kestrel, and, to our surprise, a juvenile and adult Broad-winged Hawk. A calling Red-tailed Hawk, and Turkey Vultures riding the thermals rounded out the raptor list. A nice fall morning, ending with 32 species seen. Photos by Liz Young (Cooper's Hawk on right, Broad-winged Hawk on left). [Brad andres]

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