Donald Trump · Federal Reserve (FED) · Ars Technica
Dismantling the Roadless Rule threatens to disrupt wildlife and water in US
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Pause for a moment and listen.
Key facts
- The National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Policy, better known as the Roadless Rule, was issued in January 2001 by President Bill Clinton
- More than 4.2 million miles of public roads crisscross the lower 48 states—enough to reach the Moon and back almost nine times
- The American public spoke loudly in 2001 when they supported the Roadless Rule
- Now, some of those last remaining lands free of roads are under threat from the Trump administration’s proposed rollback of the 2001 Roadless Rule
Summary
More than 4.2 million miles of public roads crisscross the lower 48 states—enough to reach the Moon and back almost nine times. Now, some of those last remaining lands free of roads are under threat from the Trump administration’s proposed rollback of the 2001 Roadless Rule. In announcing its plan, the administration said rescinding the rule would remove prohibitions on road construction and logging on nearly 59 million acres of national forest, arguing that the rule slowed economic development. In Congress, another effort is underway to try to change the law through an amendment to the Wildfire Prevention Act. As ecologists who have spent decades studying wilderness and the animals and ecological functions that depend on undisturbed habitats, they believe it’s important to understand that preserving roadless areas has value for environmental health, clean water, wildlife survival and people’s own well-being.