Roadless Rule issue explodes in U.S. Congress

Washington — Some former U.S. Forest Service chiefs and conservation-group leaders representing hunters and anglers are lambasting a last-minute “poison pill” amendment to a bipartisan fire-prevention bill that would roll back protections on millions of acres of roadless areas in national forests.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) inserted the amendment to repeal the so-called roadless rule in the Wildfire Prevention Act, a previously bipartisan bill that passed out of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on June 9 on a party-line vote (11-9) and now awaits a vote in the full Senate. The act would nullify the 2001 roadless rule, which prevents commercial logging and road building on roughly 58 million acres of national forest land.

“When it comes to safeguarding our public lands, Sen. Mike Lee is public enemy No. 1,” said Land Tawney, co-chair of American Hunters & Anglers Action Network. “He inserted the poison pill into the bipartisan legislation and now has put at risk millions of acres of fish and wildlife habitat… and access for hunters, anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts. And he wants to do this without any debate or public scrutiny. Let’s just say we have a major difference of opinion.”

Sen. Lee’s controversial amendment comes roughly a year after the U.S. Department of Agriculture, at the behest of the Trump administration, began an effort to rescind the roadless rule through an administrative process. The environmental review is underway and a decision should come later this year. Roughly 99% of comments submitted during the public comment period oppose the administration’s efforts to rescind the road rule, according to an analysis by the Center for Western Priorities.

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Roadless history

The Roadless Rule Conservation Rule was enacted in 2001 by President Bill Clinton. The final rule was the result of years-long public input, with vast majority of people supporting it.

The rule’s purpose is not only to prohibit roadbuilding in some of the nation’s oldest forests, proponents say, but to protect land, water and fish and wildlife.

These roadless areas span from Alaska to Maine. In Minnesota, there’s 2.8 million acres of National Forest System land, with about 62,000 acres of inventoried roadless areas within the Chippewa and Superior National Forests in northern Minnesota.

“This amendment stripping away roadless protections could have consequences for the Boundary Waters,” Tawney said.

Perspectives

Word of Lee’s amendment spread quickly and garnered public condemnation from a spectrum of hunting, angling, conservation and environmental groups.

That includes organizations like the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers to Trout Unlimited to the National Wildlife Federation, among others.

In addition, some former U.S. Forest Service chiefs have spoken out against repealing the rule during the past year. One former chief, Mike Dombeck, 77, who served from 1997-2002, helped craft the Clinton-era roadless rule 25 years ago. He still keeps close tabs on his former agency and forest management policy overall.

“None of this makes economic or ecological sense,” said Dombeck, in an interview. “These roadless areas are havens for wildlife, keeping habitats intact and free of development. They protect threatened species. These backcountry forests provide habitat for elk, wolves, grizzlies and even migratory songbirds in the Appalachian hardwoods and native trout in the Pacific Northwest and salmon in Alaska.”

Dombeck said national forests are the headwaters of some of the nation’s “great rivers” and the largest source of municipal water supply in nation, serving, he said, 60 million people in 33 states. “The 2001 road-less rule is critical to maintain clean drinking water for communities across the country,” he said.

Dombeck said it’s “unfortunate” that Sen. Mike Lee had to turn a simple piece of fire-prevention legislation into a partisan fight. He said the roadless rule is “conservative in nature” and seemingly fits well with Lee’s stated political beliefs.

“For one, it doesn’t cost taxpayers any money, so it’s fiscally prudent,” said Dombeck, who lives in Wisconsin. “It saves taxpayers money. Second, it doesn’t create a liability by building a road, which costs money year over year to maintain. Lastly, it keeps options open for future generations.”

Echoing other former and current wildlife and fish managers, Dombeck said Lee’s amendment is part of a gambit by the Trump administration and likeminded Republicans to “politicize federal agencies that have served us well for generations.”

“The reason the roadless areas are roadless is largely because there weren’t the economic values to get in there in the first place,” said Dombeck, adding a repeal of the rule would likely create more work for the Forest Service just as the Trump administration has cut agency staff and budgets over the past several months.

Asked how morale is within the Forest Service, Dombeck didn’t hesitate. “It’s hit rock-bottom,” he said.

Roads and fire

Sen. Lee and other Republicans cite wildfire maintenance to justify repealing the roadless rule. Dombeck and others counter that argument, saying roadless areas are open to some management, including thinning forests against wildfires and managing invasive forest plant species.

Chris Wood, president and CEO of Trout Unlimited, said the roadless rule is indispensable for hunters, anglers and other outdoor recreationists. Like other groups, TU sent an action alert to its membership to contact elected officials to protect the rule.

“If you want to hunt and fish, roadless areas are the most valuable landscapes we have in America. One statistic that absolutely blew me away when we were developing the roadless rule: These lands represent 2% of the American landscape; 25% of all of our threatened and endangered species find habitat in them,” Wood said.

Wood said many of the nation’s landscapes with roadless-rule protections are areas that are extremely difficult to access. They include “high elevation landscapes,” with very low timber value, he said. They also have “erosive soils,” which can be a detriment to water quality, especially for sensitive cold-water fish species.

Wood said he supports prescribed fire prevention in forests, though more roads will likely only lead to more fires. “Records show that a lack of roads has not stopped fire prevention measures. Lack of roads in inventoried roadless areas has neither prevented fuel treatment nor led to substantially more fire,” he said. “Today, 80% of all fires are started by people, and 80% of all fires are started within a half a mile of a road. The idea that we would overturn the roadless rule, it defies economic, ecological, and common sense.”

Tawney of American Hunters & Anglers Action Network and others say it’s time for hunters and anglers to make their voices heard to their respective congressional delegations.

“The roadless rule has served our nation well for 25 years,” he said. “Getting rid of it, especially without public input in the case of Sen. Lee’s amendment, is short-sighted and puts at-risk the traditions that hunters and anglers hold dear.”