Reader Nelson commented on some of the recent entries about the Forest Service’s attempt to overturn the 2001 Roadless Rule. He provided a link to his web site, devoted to educating the public about the Roadless Rule — roadlessland.org.
It’s an easy and visceral way to get an idea of just how much land could be affected if the Roadless Rule is overturned. Here in Southern California, large swaths of the Angeles and San Bernardino Forests will be up for grabs, while almost all of the Los Padres National Forest could be facing new construction crews.
The dark green diagonals are already-established Wilderness Areas. The light green areas are currently-held Roadless areas, which may potentially lose their protection if the Bush Forest Service gets its way.
You can click on the sections of forest to get more information about each one, as well as search by state and name. If you want to get a bit more informed, there’s an excellent summary of the issue … and if you want to be scared about what might happen, they’ve got aerial photos of some particularly invasive Forest Service roads.
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I hope folks will help by uploading their roadless area photos to roadlessland.org.
Seeing the place makes a big difference. It’s no longer an abstraction.
And who the heck do we write to to protest this proposal? Obviously Bush has earplugs in and blinders on when it comes to the citizens of the U.S.
Thankfully, California is one of the states suing the government to stop them from overturning the Roadless Rule. So the actual changes or lack thereof will be halted until the case is decided.
However, the Forest Service is scheduled to hold public comment periods for each of the National Forests, although I can’t find any information on their site yet. I know Idaho’s are scheduled already, so maybe they’ll be posted soon.
Other than that, elected Representatives almost always comment on issues like this - so get in touch with your Rep’s office and let them know how you feel about the Roadless Rule.