The U.S. Forest Service is accepting input from the public on a proposal to rescind the national 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The deadline for comments is Monday, Sept. 21.
The 2001 Roadless Rule has banned new road construction, road reconstruction and most commercial timber harvesting on some 44 million acres of national forest lands throughout the West, including in Linn County.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced on Aug. 18 that the USFS had filed a proposed rule to rescind the Roadless Rule in its entirety. According to the USFS, the rescission is intended to “prioritize local agency decision-making over regulatory rules that are the same across the country, regardless of specific land management issues and needs. “
“Our forests can’t afford another decade of inaction. Across the country, we’ve watched preventable conditions – overgrown stands, insect outbreaks and disease – turn healthy landscapes into tinderboxes,” Rollins said in making the announcement.
“For too long, outdated restrictions have kept tens of millions of forested acres off-limits to the very treatments that improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk to our communities. Today, we filed a proposal to restore authority to local forest managers who know the land best, removing the barriers that have kept them from doing the work the land demands. It’s time to turn the page on the failed roadless rule and return our forests to health and productivity.”
The agency will seek public comment on the proposal and on a draft of the environmental impact statement.
According to the USFS, the rescission removes national designation of roadless areas but does not mandate timber cutting or road construction. The action removes regulatory burden and sends decisions about roadless areas to the local national forest managers.
To comment on the proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement, go to Regulations.gov. Public comments must be received by midnight on Sept. 21.
More information is available at www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/planning/roadless and www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/planning/roadless/state-maps.