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This Article Appeared in the
Casper Star-Tribune on
Sunday June 13

The Roadless Area Conservation Rule was designed to protect the wild places, scenic beauty, the healthy wildlife, fisheries and watersheds so important to Wyoming residents' quality of life. They are also the main draw for the tourists who fuel the state's second-largest economic engine. In Wyoming, the roadless rule would protect about 3.2 million acres of national forest land. This is about one-third of our National Forest and National Grassland acreage, and just about 5% of the entire Wyoming land base. Put simply, the Roadless Rule would protect the wide-open spaces that define Wyoming in the national consciousness.

It is tempting to think about the Roadless Rule in abstract terms. But the roadless areas that would be protected by the Rule are actual places, known and loved by Wyoming residents, not mere abstractions. The Wyoming Range roadless area on the Bridger-Teton National Forest is a sterling example. The Forest Service now intends to lease the majority of the Wyoming Range to the oil and gas industry for exploration and drilling. The lease sales are slated for October despite the fact that the area provides important wildlife habitat as well as wonderful hunting and recreation opportunities. These values will ultimately be destroyed if the leasing and subsequent industrialization are allowed to take place.

The Wyoming Range roadless area is an impressive expanse of wild country beloved by the Wyoming public, but which local Forest Service officials have simply chosen not to protect. This is why we need a national rule providing protection for roadless areas across the state, and across the country.

The roadless rule is the most popular regulation in the history of this nation, having received more public comment than any other federal rule. From across the country, the Forest Service received over a million and a half citizen comments, over 95% of which expressed support for roadless area protection. Across Wyoming, thousands of citizens supported protecting roadless areas. For the Roadless Rule, Wyoming citizens submitted about 1,900 comments in favor of roadless area protection. Less than half as many citizens, about 880, opposed some aspect of the rule. Some 1,678 commentors said they wanted an even stronger rule because the draft roadless rule did not give our remaining wild forests enough protection.

Roadless areas provide a refuge for rare wildlife. For example, most of the healthiest remaining populations of native Colorado River cutthroat trout across the country are found in unroaded, wild places; these are exactly the kind of places the Roadless Rule would protect. And roadless areas provide important security areas for big game, such as elk and bighorn sheep.

There are also are economic benefits of roadless area protection. According the Wyoming Travel and Tourism Office, as much as $450 million is spent each year by "adventure tourists" in Wyoming. Another recent survey showed that between 76 and 81 percent of visitors to Wyoming specifically visit our wilderness and mountain areas, and four out of five Wyoming residents participate in human-powered outdoor activities. The same report shows that Wyoming leads the nation in per capita backpacking with over 104,000 participants. Forest Service roadless areas constitute a primary land base for these outdoor pursuits.

Opponents of the Roadless Rule like to argue that the rule was rushed through, that the states didn't have a chance to comment, and that the rule would restrict access to the forests or to private landowners. None of these rationales pass the laugh test.

The Roadless Rule was accompanied by an unprecedented call for public participation. The process took three full years. In Wyoming, the Forest Service held something like 26 public meetings; about 600 meetings were held nationwide. Before it even got started, the Forest Service assessed the road situation on the National Forests and in 1998 instituted an "interim" protection rule, which 119,000 members of the public commented on. In 1999, the agency announced its intent to create a permanent roadless area policy. Over half a million citizens commented on this announcement, and 16,000 citizens attended public meetings. In May 2000, the Draft policy and impact statement were released. During that 60-day comment period (half again as long as required by law), 1.2 million citizens commented, the Forest Service held 400 meetings. Some 96% of the commentors supported roadless area protection. In November 2000, the Final impact statement was released, with another round of public comment before the final rule was adopted in January of 2001. In no way was this policy "rushed."

The State of Wyoming took full advantage of these calls for input, submitting extensive comments on the Rule. But when the State didn't like the outcome, they sued. Apparently, 3 years wasn't enough time to express their preferences.

Regarding access to the National Forests, and to private/state inholdings, the roadless rule did not close a single mile of the 12,000 miles of roads in Wyoming's National Forests. The Roadless Rule maintains all existing recreation uses of roadless areas, including hiking, camping, biking, hunting, fishing, horseback riding, and backpacking. Off-road vehicle management and livestock grazing were not even covered by the Roadless Rule, so these uses are determined by local Forest regulations. Once again, opponents' arguments don't pass the laugh test.

On the other hand, the 12,000 miles of National Forest roads, especially the high number of poorly constructed and inadequately maintained roads, are the leading cause of water quality problems in our forest streams and rivers. This impacts important fisheries and water supplies. And the maintenance backlog of the existing roads is now $10 BILLION dollars. The common sense solution is to spend taxpayer dollars fixing and maintaining existing roads, not bulldozing new ones into pristine country.

The Rule would prohibit commercial logging and new road construction in roadless areas, but with several key exceptions. For example, roads can be built when life or property are at risk. And logging can occur to maintain or restore ecosystem composition and structure and to reduce fire risk.

The Bush administration is now poised to weaken the Roadless Rule, and the court battles to overturn it continue.

But we believe protection of roadless areas is in the best interest of Wyoming. The Roadless Rule is about balancing industrial uses of our national forests with the need to maintain some areas in a natural state for the benefit of wildlife and public enjoyment. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to pass along a Wyoming just as spectacular in its natural beauty and bountiful wildlife as the one we inherited; the Roadless Rule will help us meet this stewardship responsibility.