National Forest 'Roadless' Areas
Premier public forest lands still at risk
©Bill Lea
"There is a growing consensus among the scientific community that a strong roadless conservation rule is one of the cornerstones to sustainable public lands management, biodiversity conservation, and ecosystem health of the national forest."
- excerpt of letter signed by 127 scientists
Despite broad public opposition and numerous legal setbacks, the Bush Administration continues trying to shoot holes in a 2001 federal rule that protects 58.5 million acres of remote habitat on our national forests.
In actions aimed at Idaho, Alaska and Colorado, the administration is threatening 22 million acres currently protected by the rule in those states. If not stopped, the administration might use the same tactics to threaten other roadless areas, including in the Southern Appalachians.
Congressional support for protecting roadless areas has been a vital counterbalance to the efforts to undo the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. In 2007, Senators John Warner and Jim Webb of Virginia and 14 other members of the Southeast's congressional delegation joined more than 130 colleagues from across the country and from both sides of the aisle to introduce bi-partisan bills in the House and Senate to permanently protect all of America's roadless lands - including some 723,000 acres in the Southern Appalachians.
It was the strongest showing yet of congressional support from the Southeast for roadless protection. Sen. Warner was a lead sponsor of the Senate bill, as he was both times the bill went to the Senate before.
Roadless areas on our national forests represent an essential part of America's natural heritage - and especially so in the Southern Appalachians. Due to early settlement of the mountains, the areas that qualify today for roadless designation are fewer and smaller than in the west, putting them at a premium as a sanctuary for native wildlife, providing clean water for hundreds of communities, and offering some of the best outdoor recreation spots to be found east of the Mississippi.
Only 15 percent of the land in the nine Southern Appalachian national forests is identified by the Forest Service as roadless, well below the national average of 31 percent. Yet approximately half the nation’s population lives within a day’s drive of the Southern Appalachian national forests.
