On September 23, Research Scientist Federico Holm and Member Scholar Rob Glicksman submitted a public comment on the U.S. Department of Agriculture/U.S. Forest Service’s proposed rule to rescind the Roadless Rule (or 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule), which established baseline constraints on road construction, road reconstruction, and timber harvesting within inventoried roadless areas on National Forest System lands. In our comment, we highlighted how the agency’s justifications are inadequate to justify such an abrupt change of policy concerning management of inventoried roadless areas, the deficiencies in the quantification of costs and benefits, and the lack of (or sometimes contradictory) evidence that is at the core of the agency’s justification for the proposed rule.
As we explain, this move is as unnecessary as it is shortsighted: roadless areas in America’s national forests support wildlife and plant biodiversity, viewsheds and soundscapes, climate resilience and local economies, as well as air and water quality. The proposed rule makes it clear that the upshot (and intended purpose) of the rescission will be increased timber harvesting and leasable mineral development, and that road construction necessary to support those activities. In our comment, we strongly urged the agency not to move forward with the rescission of the 2001 Roadless Rule.
