Stop the Roadless Rule Rollback
Federal officials want to roll back the Roadless Rule, which protects 6.4 million acres of Montana’s public lands.
We have until Friday, September 19 to submit comments during the first part of the process.
✍️ Here’s how to submit your comment.
Copy the italicized text below.Paste it into the “comment” field on this page at regulations.gov.Personalize your comment if you would like.Complete the comment form and hit “Submit Comment” at the bottom of the page.
Dear Chief Schultz,
I am extremely opposed to the Forest Service’s proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The Roadless Rule protects almost 58 million acres of National Forest land, including about 6 million acres in Montana.
Over the past quarter-century, the Roadless Rule has proven its worth as a multiple-use forest management tool. It protects our clean water, wildlife habitat, and recreation opportunities. The Rule’s flexibility allowed for active forest management where needed, including 188,393 acres of active forest management projects within roadless areas in Montana since 2001. This is 20% of all hazardous fuels treatments that have occurred in the state over this time.
Rescinding the Roadless Rule will increase wildfire risk across our National Forests. Eighty-five percent of all wildfires are human-caused and the vast majority of human-caused fires on National Forests start within a half-mile of a road. Building new roads won’t protect us from wildfire, it will only bring more opportunities for fires to start.
Rescinding the Roadless Rule will increase costs for taxpayers and put further strain on limited Forest Service resources. The Forest Service road network currently suffers from a multi-billion dollar deferred maintenance backlog. Dilapidated roads harm water quality, reduce public access, and create public safety hazards. Building roads in roadless areas will exacerbate the maintenance issues and associated impacts with the existing Forest Service road network. The Roadless Rule is fiscally responsible, rescinding the Rule is not.
The Roadless Rule is extremely popular with the American public because it protects much of what we love about our National Forests: places to find adventure and enjoy nature, habitat for wildlife, and the water we depend upon.
Please keep the Roadless Rule in place.