The value of roadless areas

I enjoyed your recent stories about exploring the Badger-Two Medicine roadless area south of Glacier National Park, rugged wild country I know well from countless hunting, hiking and backcountry trips over the years, as well as my small role supporting Blackfeet leaders and other conservationists in the long fight to eliminate oil and gas leases there. Roadless areas are where I love to hunt elk, fish, or just enjoy a quiet walk in the woods far from Glacier’s crowds. Like you, I worry if the Roadless Rule goes away, as is currently proposed, as well as the Travel Management Rule which is also on the chopping block, it will only be a short while till some of the best wildlife habitat, healthy intact forests, and clean water sources I know are lost to bulldozers, chainsaws and the blab of internal combustion engines.

Roadless areas are not just some place way back in the mountains, they’re literally our back yard. Columbia Mountain and the Swan Front, which I see from my house in the heart of the city, are all roadless areas.

If the Roadless Rule goes away, the road building and logging once proposed here will likely be proposed again due to federally mandated timber harvests passed by Republicans in Congress. And due to all the ways the Trump Administration is cutting the public out from what happens on public lands, there will be little we can do to stop it.

You asked readers what we think of the Roadless Rule. I think it’s one of the most effective policies we have to conserve our public lands and wildlife. It prevents budget draining road building and logging in environmentally sensitive areas, while allowing flexibility to reduce fuels to address wildfire. It protects some of the best of what Montana has to offer - wild country, abundant wildlife, the freedom to roam, crystal clear water - all reasons so many of us love to live here. Let’s keep Montana, Montana, let’s keep the Roadless Rule.

Peter Metcalf is the Executive Director of Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance.