Roadless for a Reason
We’re glad you found your way here - odds are, it wasn’t by road. Some of our favorite places aren’t, either. In fact, it’s the absence of roads that helps keep nature wild, beautiful, and actually, more productive for all of us. They’re roadless for a reason. The quiet, postcard‑perfect spots that we share with birds, trout, and grizzly bears are in need of your help.
Protect the Roadless Rule. Protect our backyard.
The US Forest Service has proposed rescinding the Roadless Rule.
This is bad news especially for states like Montana, where the Rule safeguards nearly one‑third of Forest Service land from building new roads, logging, and mining in certain areas of designated National Forests.
The Rule’s creation in 2001 was the most popularly commented-on Forest Service administrative rule in history, and to this day, it helps guide the Forest Service in balancing the many uses of FS land: ranching/grazing, logging, mining, conservation, and recreation - to name a few. The Rule protects nearly 60 million acres of national forests and grasslands across 38 states; 45 million acres are at risk. In Montana alone, the Roadless Rule protects around 6 million acres of public land.
Roadless areas are roadless for a reason…
Protect the quiet. Protect woodland animals.
Speaking of Montana, it has the most grizzly bears in the lower 48 states! Research shows that roadless areas are where they call home. Grizzly bears are an endangered species that fought their way back from near extinction in 1975, and roadless areas are prime habitats for their continued recovery.
Grizzly bears are not the only species that thrive in roadless areas. Endangered bull trout occupy nearly 80% of the bodies of water in designated roadless areas in Montana, and they rely on policies like the Roadless Rule that protect cold water habitats and clean waterways.
The Roadless Rule also enables the Forest Service to better manage fires, which means safer critters - mentioned above, cleaner watersheds, and better protected communities. The Roadless Rule is good for trees, good for play, and is good to stay.
Protect the watershed. Protect really good beer.
One of the hallmarks of Montana is our pristine waters. The clean water that we are proud to protect is not only a result of the geography here, but also as a result of policy. Administrative protections like the Roadless Rule make sure our waterways remain intact, all the way from mountaintops to the tap line at our favorite local breweries. Learn more about how the Roadless Rule protects clean water.
Protect ridgelines. Protect jobs.
The Roadless Rule isn’t just about protecting public lands and waters. By keeping this Rule in place, we will also play a role in protecting the indisputable $24 billion dollars of benefits that roadless areas generate annually. This includes the $1.3T Outdoor Recreation economy (and businesses like Oboz), and critical services that Roadless areas provide such as habitat provision, disaster risk reduction, water quality, and aesthetic value - because who doesn’t love aesthetics. You can see the study here.
So now you see why the Roadless Rule is a good one. We may not need more rules, but we definitely need this one. For 25 years, it’s kept 350 watersheds in Montana healthy, thousands of trees upright, and birds chirping. Putting roads where they shouldn’t go destroys watersheds, landscapes, and habitats.
Take action by telling the Forest Service to keep the Roadless Rule in place:
Comment center from our friends at Wild Montana
Comment center from our friends at The Conservation Alliance
