The Trump
Administration has proposed to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule, a
vital protection that for over two decades has safeguarded nearly 60
million acres of America’s last wild, undeveloped national forest
lands. This reckless action threatens clean water, wildlife habitat,
and the climate stability these forests provide.
The Roadless Rule
prevented road construction, logging, and industrial development in
pristine backcountry forests. Places like Alaska’s Tongass,
Montana’s Flathead, and Utah’s Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forests.
Removing it will open millions of acres to destructive road-building
and timber extraction, fragmenting ecosystems and accelerating
climate change.
Secretary Rollins
must act immediately to reinstate the Roadless Rule and stop this
attack on America’s natural heritage.
Email your Secretary Brooke Rollins today
and demand that they defend the Roadless Rule.
Why It
Matters
-
Nearly 60 million
acres of our wildest national forests are now open to industrial
logging and mining.
-
These lands represent some of our most
important wildlife habitats – lands critical for endangered
species such as the grizzly, salmon, gray wolves, Mexican spotted
owl, and salmon.
-
These lands store hundreds of millions
of tons of carbon, essential for fighting climate
change.
-
Roadless areas provide drinking water
for over 60 million Americans.
-
The rollback contradicts decades of
bipartisan conservation leadership and overwhelming public
support.
“The Roadless Rule
protects some of the most ecologically valuable and
climate-resilient forestlands left in the United States,” said Susan
Holmes, Executive Director of the Endangered Species Coalition.
“Dismantling it puts wildlife, water, and communities at risk for
the profit of a
few.”
