We urgently need you to speak up for public lands – again.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins plans to eliminate the 25 year-old Roadless Rule, stripping protections from more than 45 million acres across the country and nearly 3 million acres in Nevada. If the Roadless Area Rule is rescinded, these wild places will be open to oil and gas leasing, logging and road construction. Places like the Toiyabe Crest (pictured below) will be vulnerable to developments.
Toiyabe Crest by Kirk A Peterson
Share personal camping, hiking, fishing, hunting experiences, where possible on why you value protecting our forest service managed roadless areas.
“I recreate in Nevada’s roadless areas and I support maintaining the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Rescinding the Rule would fragment habitat, increase wildfire risk, and threaten clean water supplies. Instead of dismantling a proven policy, USDA should work with stakeholders to refine and strengthen the Rule to adapt to changing fire regimes and local needs while continuing to conserve our precious roadless areas.”
Since 2001, the Roadless Rule has conserved some of our nation's most wild and intact national forest lands by prohibiting road construction and logging in in these Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs).
Virtually all our cherished Forest Service Wilderness areas were inventoried roadless areas at one point. Places like the Ruby Mountains, Mount Rose, Table Mountain, Mt. Moriah, and the High Schells were all IRAs before they became Wilderness through acts of Congress. There are still many roadless areas that deserve to become Wilderness. Since the Roadless Rule went into effect in 2001, eight of those IRAs became new or expanded Wilderness areas totaling 282,318 acres. And many more of the remaining IRAs are amazing areas that we are actively working to protect as Wilderness.
These wildlands are our shared American heritage, and are irreplaceable – once they’re developed, they’re gone. Defend the Roadless Rule and our public lands heritage today!
