POLICY & ADVOCACY: ISSUES: NATIIONAL FOREST ROADLESS AREAS

The Roadless Area Conservation Rule, as promulgated in January 2001, would prevent logging, road construction, mining, and drilling on 58.5 million acres of unspoiled national forest system lands, except in rare circumstances. In May 2005, the Bush Administration announced its new plans for roadless area management, repealing the popular Roadless Area Conservation Rule and replacing it with a state-by-state petition process. The new plan gave governors the option to petition the federal government for protections for roadless areas in their states, providing no guarantee of protection and potentially opening portions of many favorite hiking destinations to activities that degrade resources and habitat and diminish scenic views and opportunities for solitude.

In September 2006, a California federal judge reinstated the 2001 Roadless Rule, overturning a Bush Administration rule that required governors to petition the federal government to protect national forests in their states and would have allowed states to build logging roads through millions of acres of publicly owned national forests.

Right now there is a proposed national rulemaking to decide the fate of 9.3 million acres of backcountry areas in Idaho's national forests—representing the core of the last intact forest ecosystem in the lower 48 states.

JUST RELEASED! View a video produced by the Outdoor Alliance about roadless areas and why they deserve protection.

More than half of the lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service have already been impacted by decades of forest clearcutting, oil and gas development, mining, and other industrial uses. The many ecological benefits of roadless areas - such as large, undisturbed landscapes, improving air and water quality, and preserving habitat for plant and animal species - are all important to hikers and contribute to the hiking experience. Roadless areas provide myriad opportunities for solitude, renewal, and inspiration in the wild backcountry of national forests, and they include thousands of hiking trails across the country, including renowned footpaths such as the Appalachian, North Country, and Pacific Crest National Scenic Trails. Roadless areas are critical for recreation.

National Forests alone have nearly 400,000 miles of roads - 10 times the size of the U.S. interstate system. The Forest Service faces a nearly $10 billion backlog of deferred maintenance and reconstruction of existing roads and enormous deficits from the federal timber program.