Spawning sockeye salmon in Becharof Creek, Becharof Wilderness, Alaska. Wikipedia Commons image.
I am among the millions of Americans deeply concerned and angered by your administration’s disregard for our environment, which threatens the well-being of our nation now and for generations to come.
Henry Clement, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, August 2023.
By Henry Clement
The Roadless Rule is profoundly important for protecting vast, relatively undisturbed national forest landscapes. These areas deliver unparalleled ecological, economic, and social benefits that far outweigh any short-term gains from development or road building. These irreplaceable public resources must be preserved for current and future generations.
For Example, Consider the Roadless Rule:
The Roadless Area Conservation Rule restricts new road construction and most commercial logging on tens of millions of acres of inventoried roadless areas in U.S. national forests. These areas are generally unroaded blocks over 5,000 acres, identified by Forest Service reviews since the 1970s.
Ecological and Climate Considerations You Ignore
Roadless areas serve as refuges for biodiversity. It provides habitat for hundreds of threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant and wildlife species, including salmon and other important game fish.
Avoiding new roads keeps habitats connected, maintains high-elevation snowpack, and supports wildlife and fisheries—often on par with national parks and designated wilderness areas.
Intact forests and soils in roadless areas store large amounts of carbon and help regulate the climate. They act as long-term carbon sinks and buffers against climate-driven disturbances such as fires and storms. These are of considerable importance, which your administration’s appointees appear willing to sacrifice for short-term interests.
Study of a male Dolly Varden char by award-winning watercolorist Thom Glace.
Water and “Green Infrastructure” Benefits
Roadless headwaters filter pollutants and sediments, protecting downstream drinking water and fisheries, and reducing treatment costs.Intact watersheds and forest cover reduce flood risk. Stabilize slopes against erosion and landslides. It can moderate wildfire behavior when managed with light-touch restoration rather than destructive practices.
These functions are often called “green infrastructure” because they provide clean water and help mitigate flooding and buffer against disasters without costly structures. The ongoing taxpayer maintenance is high.
Trump promised to be a protector of public lands, but since his election, he has reversed course. His allies in the House of Representatives have embraced the radical idea of wresting national public lands from the American people, supporting proposals that encourage state seizures of public lands. Multinational logging, mining, and development companies have now found an ally in Washington. Image is of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. Credit: Joseph, Flickr.
Economics
Recreation in national forest roadless areas—hiking, hunting, fishing, backpacking, wildlife viewing, and similar non-motorized uses—has been valued at roughly $600 million per year. In direct recreation benefits on about 42 million acres.Spending on these activities supports thousands of jobs nationally and generates income in nearby communities, despite limited extractive development in the roadless tracts. These are real families and livelihoods that deserve respect, not dismissal.Recent analyses frame roadless and similar protected areas as essential to a national outdoor recreation economy worth hundreds of billions, if not over a trillion, dollars annually. These activities include hunting, angling, biking, and climbing.
Administrative and Fiscal Value Ignored by Project 25
The rule also aims to reduce the financial burden of expanding and maintaining an already overextended national forest road system. It has major deferred maintenance and compliance costs.
Limiting new roads in remote, low-profit timber areas avoids unprofitable development and reduces future storm damage. It also lowers the litigation risk associated with road-building and logging.
In summary, maintaining the Roadless Rule is crucial for safeguarding large, relatively untouched forest areas—offering Americans essential ecosystem services, lasting recreational opportunities, rural economic benefits, and reducing long-term public costs. I strongly encourage your Republican administration to preserve these essential landscapes for both current and future generations.
Therefore, I urge you, Mr. Trump, to uphold and fully enforce the Roadless Rule and protect our public lands to ensure these critical benefits continue for future generations. Europe already recognized its mistakes hundreds of years ago and now protects forests and remaining wildernesses.
Coho [Silver] salmon fresh ocean run colors. Illustration by national award-winning watercolorist Thom Glace.
NOTE 2: Featured Image courtesy of Colorado.com.
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