Roadless Rule Attack in the Senate

[phall]

Last night Sen. Lee introduced an amendment to s.140, the Wildfire Protection Act, which will overturn the 2001 roadless rule and prevents the USFS from putting any similar rule in place in the future. text here. This passed SENR Committee on party lines 11-9, so please, call your senators and ask for this to be removed from s.140 or for them to vote no on s.140. This will severely impact how the majority of us hunt and interact with our landscape.

 

[EdP]

How will this impact hunters in a negative way? Doesn't it allow the FS to put in roads to allow more timber harvest, more thinning and controlled burns, and therefore provide more access for hunters? Timber harvest, thinning and controlled burns create a more diverse landscape, a landscape that more closely mimics a natural state where fire brings renewal and diversity of flora, benefiting a multitude of fauna. Controlled burns in the west are also a major tool to limit the spread of the western pine bark beetle. Please explain why hunters should oppose this legislation. The text of the proposed change doesn't make it clear to me.

 

[phall]

There are a few major impacts for hunters and anglers.
Habitat fragmentation
Water quality degredation
increased fire risk, a majority of wildfires are started within 1/4 mile of a road & they are already conducting active forest and fuel management strategies within roadless parcels
The USFS is already in a maintenance backlog on existing roads

Roads impact wildlife negatively:
study
article summarizing study


Trout Unlimited Report on the ecological and recreational benefits of roadless:
TU Report