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With the new congressional session moving full steam ahead, legislation has been introduced to protect the remaining wild, roadless areas in America's national forests from logging, mining and other degrading activities. This legislation, the National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Act (HR2516), will help protect nearly 69,000 acres in Wisconsin’s Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.

Background

The “Roadless Rule,” as it came to be known, protects the remaining pristine areas within iconic national forests like Wisconsin’s Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, as well as areas like the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire and the Siskiyou-Rogue River National Forest in Oregon. These areas have no roads, and retain their unique character because they are off-limits to developers, logging trucks and mining operations.

Roadless forests provide drinking water for 60 million Americans, habitat for endangered species such as the grey wolf and the Eastern cougar, and endless recreational opportunities for millions of Americans.

In Wisconsin, 69,000 acres in Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest were protected under the Roadless Rule. These areas are home to some of the most striking beauty on earth and are among some of Wisconsin’s last pristine forests. Less than 2 percent of Wisconsin’s forests are still wild.

President Clinton signed the Roadless Rule in 2001. When the Bush administration repealed the rule shortly after taking office in 2001, it replaced the policy with an unwieldy, unscientific and unpopular plan that passed the buck to state governors. They could either petition to protect the forests or open them to logging, drilling or other forms of development.

In addition to repealing the roadless rule, the Bush administration failed to defend the rule in court. This is in spite the fact that public comments from around the country, including 95 percent of the comments from Wisconsin, were overwhelmingly in support of protecting these rules.

Wisconsin Environment worked in the summer of 2006 with a coalition of environmental groups, local conservation organizations, recreational businesses owners and scientists to convince Gov. Doyle to protect Wisconsin’s roadless areas. We delivered 9,000 public comments to the governor in August and mobilized over 100 citizens to attend open houses this summer to weigh in on the issue.

While the court’s decision is a victory for the hundreds of staff and volunteers that worked on the campaign and the millions of people that enjoy these pristine places, the Bush administration will likely appeal the decision.