In late June, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Brooke Rollins announced her plan to rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The policy, better known as the Roadless Rule, was put in place by the U.S. Forest Service in 2001 to reduce the impact of road construction on certain public lands.
Since its inception, the policy has protected 58.5 million acres of land from commercial and industrial development, particularly in the western U.S. and Alaska, areas that hold most of the country’s public lands. On August 27, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the next steps of the plan to ditch the policy, opening the floor for public comment.
Although the USFS claims that opening forests up to development is a net positive by allowing for more sustainable forestry, it fails to mention that getting rid of the rule opens the door to development for oil, coal and mining of natural resources, something keenly in line with President Trump’s plan to limit green energy development and expand fossil fuel production.
Certain types of forestry are important, especially to supply lumber demand, and it can be done in a sustainable way that preserves old-growth forests, limits clear-cutting and allows for natural regeneration of the forest and protection of at-risk species. However, the Trump administration does not seem to be too keen on the idea, as it means less money short term.
Forests in particular are important as carbon sinks, a system that takes in more carbon than it emits. Through sustainable forestry, less carbon is released as forests have time to regenerate. On the contrary, clear-cutting in an effort to extract as much lumber as possible in a small amount of time releases a much larger amount of carbon than it can recapture.
USFS Chief Tom Schultz implied in the recent press release that more roads will help decrease wildfire risk, but according to a study from the Pacific Biodiversity Institute, the development of roads for commercial use actually increases wildfire risk for the simple fact: where there are roads, there are humans, and where there are humans, there is fire, with around 85% of wildfires in the U.S. caused by humans.
Opening up the development of roads in forests would also allow for a growth in extractive industries that hurt the environment more than they give. It’s well established that the fossil fuel industries are a major contributor to the rise in global carbon emissions, propelling climate change. Further, the extraction of fossil fuels and other resources leaves a permanent scar on the land that, unlike forests, cannot heal.
Aside from the impacts of industrial development, the roads themselves will cause increased problems for forests. According to a 2020 study by the USFS’s Rocky Mountain Research Station, rates of invasive plants doubled within 500 feet of forest roads. Along with that, roads cut through ecosystems and create barriers between habitats.
For decades, the USFS has acknowledged the harm road development can bring to forests through extractive industries, increased fire risk and harm to native plants.
Yet the Trump administration and USDA’s push to gut this rule and public lands more broadly is a clear attack on America’s forests in an effort to privatize and divide up the land that belongs to all Americans.
Ethan Herx is a junior studying photojournalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. Want to share your thoughts? Let Ethan know by emailing or tweeting them at eh481422@ohio.edu or @ethanherx.
