In the summer of 2006, I joined hundreds of protesters at a rally in southern Oregon where I wore a homemade t-shirt that said “Roadless is Priceless”. The Forest Service, at the direction of the George W. Bush administration, had just auctioned off more than 500 acres of wild roadless forests for logging.
These areas were protected by the Roadless Area Conservation Rule (as it is officially known), issued in 2001, and the result of years of development and the most extensive public rulemaking process in history. However, the Rule was being challenged in court, and the Bush administration saw an opportunity to exploit these vital forests. The Roadless Rule eventually persevered, despite the Bush administration’s efforts, and has continued to protect some of the last large wild areas left on public lands, totaling 58 million acres nationwide and 2 million acres of Oregon’s landscapes – from Hells Canyon to the Oregon Dunes.
While the gold standard of protections for nature are reserved for lands designated under the Wilderness Act, the Roadless Rule includes important protections from most logging, road building, and other development for large, wild areas. Many of these areas are adjacent to designated Wilderness, and often proposed for Wilderness protections in bills that have not yet passed Congress. Essentially, the Roadless Rule helps keep wild places wild.
Roadless IS priceless… but if one needs convincing of their immense value, here are just a few examples:
- These are places that safeguard drinking water for numerous Oregon communities – from Ashland to Bend to Pendleton.
- They provide core habitats for rare and threatened species like salmon, bulltrout and northern spotted owls, but also wildlife like beavers, elk, and migratory birds that not only benefit ecosystems but shore up local economies.
- And they are places that generations of Oregonians and visitors have returned to to hike, bike, fish, hunt, bird watch, forage, and spend time in nature for personal renewal.
Now, these wild places are under attack by the Trump administration as they work to remove any roadblocks to their “timber first” mandates for our public forest lands.
Here are just a few examples of Oregon’s wild places the Roadless Rule protects:
Lookout Mountain, Ochoco National Forest
The roadless area surrounding the diverse forests, wildflower meadows, and vistas on Lookout Mountain include more than 14,000 acres. This area is part of a vital wildlife corridor, home to wandering wolves, herds of elk, and much more. It’s also a great place to hike and explore.
Read more about Lookout Mountain in Marina Richie’s blog post here.
Hardesty Mountain, Willamette and Umpqua National Forests
Located in Eugene’s backyard and crisscrossed with several popular trails, the 8,000 acres of roadless forests that surround Hardesty Mountain and Mount June stand in stark contrast to the surrounding clearcuts (new and old) and logging roads that have otherwise fragmented the landscape in the western Cascade foothills. A hike here can include deep forest, wildflowers, and views over protected headwater streams.
Read more about this area in Marina Richie’s blog post here.
Joseph Canyon, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest
The huge complex of roadless wildlands surrounding Joseph Canyon – an important ecological landscape that serves as a bridge between the Rocky and Cascade Mountains in northeast Oregon – protect a rugged, remote landscape rich in culture and wildlife. Part of the Nez Perce Tribe’s homeland, the remote canyons, forests, and streams in this area are home to healthy native fish, carnivore, and bird populations.
Wilderness Extensions
Many of the areas included in the Roadless Rule surround existing designated Wilderness Areas like Mount Hood, Three Sisters, Waldo Lake, Kalmiopsis, Eagle Cap, and Wild Rogue – amplifying the wildness of these protected cores, and the importance of these extensions.
You can find these areas and more on Oregon Wild’s interactive roadless area map.
You can also join us for guided hikes to some of the roadless areas at risk – find a hike here.
The work to protect these places, and the Roadless Rule itself, is entering a new phase. We need your voice for the wild. Take action today!
Photo credits:
- Rogue River: Hanna Anderson
- Lookout Mountain trail: Marina Richie
- Hardesty Mountain trail: Chandra LeGue
- Joseph Canyon: Oregon Wild
- Bluegrass Ridge and Mount Hood: Jurgen Hess
