The Roadless Rule and the Tongass National Forest

Photo by U.S. Forest Service

The Roadless Rule is an important (and lesser-known) tool that protects wild landscapes on our National Forests. As outdoor enthusiasts, we know our community cares about both conservation and recreation, and the Roadless Rule is vitally important for both. Right now the Forest Service wants to hear what you think about their proposal to exempt the Tongass National Forest in Alaska from the Roadless Rule, opening up millions of acres to unnecessary logging and development. You can read Outdoor Alliance’s letter to the Forest Service right here.

Read on for more information about the Roadless Rule and what’s at stake with the Tongass.

What is a Roadless Area?

National Forests provide lots of resources to Americans, including timber, fresh water, clean air, and access to outdoor recreation. Right now, about 50% of our National Forest land is open to drilling, logging, and mining; and 18% is protected as designated Wilderness. The remaining 30% of forests are known as Roadless Areas. These remote, roadless landscapes are treasured by our community for the backcountry recreation experiences they provide. These backcountry landscapes are governed by the Roadless Rule.

The Roadless Rule was established in 2001 after enormous public outreach and was intended to “provide lasting protection in the context of multiple-use management” for the 60 million acres of roadless areas on our National Forests and Grasslands. This means that we cannot build new roads or harvest timber on these Roadless Areas, but they are still open for a range of recreational activities including climbing, hiking, mountain biking, paddling, and backcountry skiing. While these areas are protected from development, these protections are less restrictive than Wilderness Areas in terms of what forms of recreation you can undertake within them.

Click here to learn more about Roadless Areas on the forests where you recreate.

Why is the Roadless Rule Important?

The Roadless Rule conserves public lands and protects a range of recreational opportunities in the backcountry. Protecting Roadless Areas from large-scale mining, oil and gas drilling, logging, and new road construction protects outdoor experiences. The landscapes protected by the Roadless Rule are integral to backcountry recreation, providing wild places to explore on foot, by bike, or on the water. The Tongass National Forest in Alaska is the largest National Forest in the U.S. and it is home to incredible outdoor recreation, including mountaineering and sea kayaking.

Roadless forests also fight climate change by capturing and storing carbon emissions. The Tongass National Forest is the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world and captures an enormous amount of carbon. The old growth trees in the Tongass are champions of curbing climate change, storing ~12% of all the carbon captured on National Forest lands in the country. 

If the Forest Service moves forward with exempting the Tongass from the Roadless Rule, it paves the way for similar action on other forests. Just like we rallied to protect Bears Ears and the Antiquities Act, which allows for and protects National Monuments, a threat to the Roadless Rule on one corner of our public lands is a threat to all of our Roadless Areas, including the ones we are most connected to.

The U.S. Forest Service’s Proposal for the Tongass

The U.S. Forest Service has proposed exempting the entire Tongass National Forest from the Roadless Rule. This means opening this one-of-a-kind landscape - with its old growth trees, intact ecosystem, and incredible outdoor recreation opportunities - to building new roads that enable resource extraction, like logging and mining.

The Forest Service is required to accept and review feedback from the public on this proposal, so you have a critical opportunity to protect the forest by commenting by Dec. 17, 2019. Using the form below, ask the Forest Service to support the “no action alternative” and keep the Roadless Rule in effect on the Tongass National Forest.