Ending the ‘Roadless Rule’ could end Montana’s wilderness

Our public lands are the backbone of Montana. Our sporting heritage, wildlife habitat, clean water and local economies depend on healthy national forests. Hunters and anglers understand this as well as anyone, which is why sportsmen and women from across Montana are standing up to champion the Roadless Area Conservation Rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s misguided plan to do away with it.

This week, the USDA released its Draft Environmental Impact Statement on rescinding the rule and opening our roadless backcountry to new road building and development. This opens a public comment period that the USDA has limited to just 33 days. For those 2,000 miles away in Washington, D.C., the lack of vision may be understandable. But for those of us who cherish these places that we consider our backyard, their value and what’s at risk is as plain as day.

Montana’s roadless backcountry lands are the places we hunt. Elk seek out areas that are away from roads, and so do the hunters who pursue them. If you hunt Montana’s public lands, chances are you’ve put in many miles hiking though the U.S. Forest Service Inventoried Roadless Areas to fill your tag.

Not unlike elk and other big game, our wild trout populations also depend on the clean water and healthy streams found in roadless areas. These are not only the blue line fisheries we fish in solitude; they are the nurseries that support our most famous rivers. Quite simply, our Roadless Areas help ensure that we continue to have both thriving trout and wildlife populations for future generations of Montanans.

But Inventoried Roadless Areas still fly a bit under the radar. Unlike national parks or wilderness areas, they don’t have big signs announcing that you are crossing a line on the map. Chances are you’ve hunted, fished or otherwise recreated in these places without even knowing it. They offer us wild places without the big “W” wilderness, and provide easy access without the spiderweb of roads, giving us places that feel far from civilization while being accessible from where we live.

In early March, nearly a thousand Montanans turned out for one of seven public meetings held in Kalispell, Libby, Missoula, Hamilton, Butte, Bozeman and Helena. People who have walked these ridgelines, fought fires, studied wildlife populations and rely on the clean water from these headwaters shared what these places mean to them and why the Roadless Area Conservation Rule should remain in place.

Notably, those hearings were organized and hosted by community organizations, including Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, and not the USDA. Unlike in 2000, when the USDA first proposed the rule and held more than 600 public meetings nationwide to solicit public input, including 34 here in Montana, this time the USDA held zero hearings and is doing its best to ignore rather than seek public comment.

But we won’t be quiet.

Despite a rushed comment period last fall, 625,000 Americans still weighed in, with 99% of comments opposing rescission. And what does the USDA offer after hearing strong opposition from Americans? A draft environmental impact statement that ignores the science, the history, and the lived experience of the hunters, anglers, foresters and rural communities who steward these places.

But this fight is not over, and we must still make our voices heard.

We hold our roadless backcountry dear, our way of life depends on these places, and that the public’s opinion matters.

BHA is collecting comments to submit to the USDA at backcountryhunters.org/roadless.

The comment period ends Sept. 21.