Administration looks to rescind Roadless Rule

The Forest Service has announced it will rescind the Clinton-era Roadless Rule after a 30-day comment period.

In the  Flathead National Forest, there are about 383,000 acres of Inventoried Roadless Areas and an additional 93,000 acres of roadless areas that are in recommended wilderness, or about 4% of the Forest.

Roadless areas are in the North Fork in the Whitefish Range, particularly on the west side and up and down both sides of the Hungry Horse Reservoir along the Swan and Flathead ranges.

Columbia Mountain, for example, is a roadless area almost entirely. The roadless rule did not preclude timber harvest, though it did largely stop new roads from built in those areas.

“Our forests can’t afford another decade of inaction. Across the country, we’ve watched preventable conditions – overgrown stands, insect outbreaks and disease – turn healthy landscapes into tinderboxes,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said a release. “For too long, outdated restrictions have kept tens of millions of forested acres off-limits to the very treatments that improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk to our communities. Today, we filed a proposal to restore authority to local forest managers who know the land best, removing the barriers that have kept them from doing the work the land demands. It’s time to turn the page on the failed roadless rule and return our forests to health and productivity.” 

The Montana Logging Association also supported rescinding the rule.

“It’s going to be a really good thing,” Tim McEntire, Northwest Regional Representative said Wednesday. “It will allow local forest flexibility with projects.”

He noted it sounds like a “free for all” but it isn’t. The Forests will still have to adhere to their Forest plans and adhere to the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act and other federal laws.

Environmental groups blasted the announcement.

“For 25 years, the Roadless Rule has kept our wildest forests intact. The benefits have been incalculable for people, for water, for wildlife, and for the climate,” said Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen. “Now, the Trump administration wants to gut the rule and open up 45 million acres of roadless forest to clear-cutting and other harmful development enabled by roading. Scientists, wildland firefighters, and hundreds of thousands of Americans have fiercely opposed this attack on our public lands. Earthjustice has successfully defended the Roadless Rule for a quarter century, and we are not going to stop now.”

When the Forest Service first announced it was considering expunging the rule, most people who commented on the idea opposed it.

But key people supported its recission, including Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte.

“For 25 years, the heavy thumb of Washington D.C. has hindered Montana’s ability to properly manage wildfire risk and road development on nearly 60 percent of Forest Service land across the Treasure State,” Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said. “Today’s long overdue decision will empower states like Montana to pursue proper forest management on federal lands with local communities in mind. I’m grateful to President Donald J. Trump and Secretary Rollins for their strong leadership in restoring common sense to active forest management.”

Speaking at the North Fork Interlocal, Flathead National Forest Supervisor Anthony Botello said the 2018 Forest Plan is still the agency’s governing document unless it’s amended, which is a process that requires public  input.

The plan outlines a host of uses on the Flathead, from its suitable timber base, to recommended wilderness to its travel plan, which governs motorized use both on roads and off roads.

The plan was often built with community collaboration, particularly in the North Fork, where a coalition of interests called the Whitefish Range Partnership devised much of the land use plan for that region of the forest, which borders Glacier National Park.

To comment on the proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement, go to Regulations.gov. Public comments must be received by midnight on Sept. 21. The roadless rule page is www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/planning/roadless