Common sense conservation: Retain the Roadless Rule

There is nothing more conservative than conservation. 

Gifford Pinchot, first chief of the Forest Service, described conservation as “the application of common sense to common problems for the common good.” 

That principle guided the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.

The Kootenai National Forest contains about 1.2 million acres of Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs), including 15 that span nearly 200,000 acres in the Yaak Valley.

Roadless areas mean healthy watersheds that slow and store water, filter sediment, protect water quality and provide habitat for fish and wildlife. National Forest lands supply drinking water to more than 60 million people.

The Yaak’s roadless forests may also serve as climate refugia into the future. Protecting these high-value habitats is critical.

IRAs are equally important for grizzly bear recovery. The Cabinet-Yaak population depends on connectivity with other grizzly populations. Roadless areas provide the connectivity needed to reach sustainable numbers.

Rolling back the Roadless Rule—and weakening Endangered Species Act protections—will increase the risk of habitat loss and lethal management, including in critical grizzly connectivity areas.

We need stronger, not weaker safeguards. Tell the administration to choose “No Action Alternative 1” and retain the Roadless Rule.

Submit comments by Oct. 6, 2026, at www.regulations.gov, Docket #FS-2025-0001.

Chris Bachman, Troy, Montana