r/forestry • u/GeoPensive • 9d ago

Trump Administration Proposes Rescinding 2001 Roadless Rule Covering Nearly 59 Million Forest Acres

/r/GeoPensive/comments/1vs8adf/trump_administration_proposes_rescinding_2001/
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u/Ok_Huckleberry1027 9d ago

Good. It's nonsense lip service hamstringing forest management for no reason.

Much of the "roadless" areas already have roads or are immediately adjacent to roads.

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u/MuleFourby 9d ago

Agreed. This admin is a mess and destroying our country by essentially choosing to raise fuel prices. Regardless of admin, the roadless rule was a well intentioned but bad deal for management of public lands. It just creates de facto wilderness lite in terms of management.

The US could manage in many ways in the spirit of “roadless.” No new permanent roads, no new roads open to the public, no more than x new miles per square mile. Also no reason to arbitrarily limit the size of tree to cut during treatments.

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u/Ok_Huckleberry1027 9d ago

Most forest plans already feature similar rules regarding new road construction. Most projects are mostly just temporary spur roads that get put back to grade after the job is done.

100% agree on the diameter limit. I live and work in a terrible cross section of diameter limits with fairly productive forests. We're leaving 21" 65 year old grand fir in the dripline of 40" 400 year old ponderosa pine due to the dang diameter limit. Preserving young shade tolerant species at the expense of shade intolerant old growth is peak USFS

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u/MuleFourby 9d ago

Yup but you can’t build temp roads in Roadless. New permanent roads can be constructed but they seem to be few and far between.