Conservation Notes: 2001 Roadless Rule rescinded

Trump Administration rescinds 2001 legislation that protects 59 million acres of national forests

By Tom Molloy

The Department of Agriculture has announced that it will rescind a decades-old rule that protects 58.5 million acres of National Forest land from road construction and timber harvesting.

The USDA, which oversees the U.S. Forest Service, will eliminate the 2001 Roadless Rule that established protection for specific wilderness areas within the national forests. Roads for timber harvesting and other activities disrupt ecosystems, increase erosion and add sediment to rivers and drinking water.

The USDA reports that more than 40 states are home to these specific wilderness areas protected by this rule. In California, that encompasses about 4.4 million acres across 21 National Forests, including the Angeles, Tahoe, Inyo, Shasta-Trinity and Los Padres National Forests. The New York Times reports that other specific previously-protected wilderness areas that will now be open to such destruction include: Reddish Knob in the Shenandoah mountains; millions of acres adjacent to the Frank Church-River of No Return wilderness in Idaho; Tongass National Forest in Alaska, the largest temperate rainforest in North America. The Tongass N.F. contains trees over 800 years old and provides essential habitat for 400 species.

Environmental groups were quick to oppose this affront, but such objections fall on deaf ears when the Republican-led Senate, Congress and Supreme Court appear to have all capitulated to Trump’s will. Drew McConville, senior fellow with the Center for American Progress, a nonprofit, poignantly noted: “Under the guise of wildfire prevention, this action would shamelessly offer up some of our most treasured national forests for drilling, mining, and timber.”

Trump in April also issued a directive to open up more than 112.5 million acres of national forestland to industrial logging — including all 18 National Forests in California.

With the Republican Congress and Senate having relinquished their historic roles to check the Presidency, the only remaining hope is the courts. Join me in supporting environmental and other organizations who are filing lawsuits to help slow the assaults to the environment.