The 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule instilled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture established prohibitions on road construction and timber harvests on nearly 60 million acres of national forests and grasslands.
In June, however, USDA Secretary Brooke L. Rollins announced an intent to rescind the rule which affects nearly 45 million acres of national forests and grasslands in 2025, including the Tongass National Forest in Alaska.
“As a multi-use land management agency, our decisions are made considering interrelated issues of ecology, the economy, laws and culture. The goal is to make the best decisions at the local level so that forests stay healthy and can meet today’s needs and continue providing benefits long into the future,” the USDA said in a statement.
A notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement to evaluate the effects of rescinding the legislation was published by Rollins in late August. The environmental impact statement will also study alternatives for roadless area conservation on national forests and grasslands in relation to multiple-use resource management.
The 2001 ruling no longer applies to more than 9 million acres in Idaho and more than 4 million acres in Colorado, according to the USDA.
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In early September the Co-Chairs of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) Lands, Waters, and Nature Task Force Reps. Doris Matsui of California, Don Beyer of Virginia and Maxine Dexter of Oregon sent a letter calling on Rollins to provide robust opportunities for public engagement and input on USDA’s proposal to rescind the rule.
“For over two decades, the Roadless Rule has successfully guided the management of 58.5 million acres of public lands across the National Forest System. This policy has successfully balanced the Forest Service’s multiple use mandate, preventing new road construction and industrial-scale logging on intact National Forest System lands while still allowing for other land uses such as mining, grazing and recreation,” the SEEC co-chairs wrote.
The U.S. Forest Service, through the 2001 Roadless Rule, exhibited public outreach and coordination by hosting approximately 430 public meetings, collaborating with seven other federal agencies and consulting with more than 180 American Indian and Alaska Native groups, according to the SEEC.
A public comment period, which ended last week, allowed for 1.6 million public comments, more than 95 percent of which voiced strong support for roadless areas.
“For a new rulemaking that intends to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule entirely, a 21-day public comment period is unacceptable and will result in a less robust decision-making process that lacks accountability to the public. USDA and the Forest Service must conduct extensive outreach to affected stakeholders to understand how the public wants their public lands managed,” the co-chairs wrote.
The (SEEC) is a coalition of 102 members of the U.S. House of Representatives that was founded in January 2009 to be a focused, active and effective coalition for advancing policies that address climate change, promote clean energy innovation and domestic manufacturing, develop renewable energy resources, create family-sustaining clean jobs, protect our nation’s air, water and natural environment, and promote environmental justice.
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Rebecca Barnabi
