In 2001, 58.5 million acres of National Forests in 39 states gained protections from new road building, commercial logging, and some other development under the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2001 (aka the Roadless Rule). You won’t see the outline of these areas on most maps, but the large, undeveloped areas covered under the Roadless Rule include the last, best, wild places our public lands have to offer. 

In late June, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture announced plans to rescind the 2001 rule.

What does this mean? Coupled with other Trump administration attacks on foundational environmental laws and policies, and direction to ramp up logging in National Forests, this announcement should be met with the understanding that these wild lands are under threat of increased exploitation, putting at risk drinking water for millions, an outdoor recreation economy, increased fire risk, and damage to cultural sites.

Repeal of the rule by its industry-backed critics has been tried before. Not long after it was finalized in 2001, the Bush Administration tried to rescind the rule by moving to a state-by-state decision. Environmentalists challenged this move and won the legal battle to keep the Roadless Rule in 2008. In the meantime, Colorado and Idaho developed their own state-specific versions of the Roadless Rule. Battles over exemptions for the Tongass National Forest have been ongoing as well. (Check out our friends at EarthJustice for a detailed timeline on the Roadless Rule.)

The Great Old Broads for Wilderness is committed to defending our wildest public lands. Our staff and volunteer Broadband Leaders are participating in a nation-wide roadless rule defense coalition, and are plugged in and supporting efforts by our Broads across the country—from hikes to letters to the editor.

While the Roadless Rule was the result of one of the most extensive public processes for federal rule making in the nation’s history, with hundreds of public meetings and more than 1.6 million public comments submitted, the rumored process for the planned repeal is anything but that—and we expect the announcement of a very short public comment period on this proposal in the coming weeks.

Please join us on September 3 from 10-11:00 AM (Mountain) for an important and informative webinar—”Preserving Wild, Roadless Public Lands in the Pacific Northwest and Beyond”—where we will learn about the history and purpose of the Roadless Rule, the challenges and legal battles that have been fought to protect it since 2001, and what we can do now to stand up for this important conservation rule!

This webinar is free and open to the public.

Click here to register today!

Note: Can’t make it? We will be recording this important webinar, and will try to make it available after the event. Stay tuned for details.