The U.S. Forest Service’s proposed elimination of a policy that’s meant to keep the backcountry wild has raised alarms among conservationists and New Hampshire politicians alike.
The Forest Service is asking for public feedback regarding the proposed elimination of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which could allow logging and other industrial activities by private companies or organizations. The window for public comment is open until Sept. 21.
The Roadless Rule prohibited road construction and harvesting timber through about 60 million acres of inventoried roadless areas across the country.
On Aug. 18, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the Forest Service filed to rescind the rule in its entirety. In a statement, federal officials described the rule as “a one-size-fits-all restriction that has frustrated land managers and served as a barrier to wildfire risk reduction work across large swaths of America’s national forests.”
If the rule is eliminated, federal protections for approximately 235,000 acres of roadless backcountry within the White Mountain National Forest will no longer be protected from roads being built.
Forest Service officials did not respond to a request for comment, but their website says the removal of the rule would allow federal authorities to better manage forests to prevent wildfires.
However, building roads in the wilderness could backfire because human activity accounts for around 85% of all wildfires, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Granite State conservationists said the change could effectively reduce public access to what is supposedly a public resource.
“What it really does is it opens up these areas for industrial-scale logging,” said Steve Russell, president of Friends of Mount Sunapee.
Across the country, Russell said, the changes could entice drilling, mining and other resource-extraction industries, but timber is the primary concern in New Hampshire.
“In a sense, it contradicts the original intent of the use of the land, which is public land,” Russell said.
White Mountain National Forest
Around 6 million visitors come to the White Mountain National Forest each year to hike, ski, camp or otherwise enjoy its mountain peaks and panoramic vistas. Many of those visitors come straight up Interstate 93. Visitation has increased in recent years, to the tune of 60%, according to the University of New Hampshire.
Recreation in the White Mountain National Forest is a $4 billion annual contributor to the state economy and supports 30,000 jobs, officials said.
“It’s important for the people of New Hampshire and it generates a lot of income for the state,” Russell said.
In a statement to the New Hampshire Union Leader on Wednesday, New Hampshire Department of Natural & Cultural Resources interim Commissioner Adam Crepeau said he’s aware of both concerns about the proposal and support from local forestry groups.
“We’re committed to protecting New Hampshire’s forests for future generations of Granite Staters and visitors to enjoy,” he said.
But Russell’s concerns aren’t merely economic. There are threats against the environment to be considered, too, he said.
“Conservation is a central part of the whole thing because it’s a haven for a lot of bird species and large mammals and biodiversity in general,” he said. “It would be really irresponsible.”
The White Mountain National Forest spans more than 800,000 acres of alpine wilderness and contains hardwood trees between New Hampshire and Maine. It’s one of only two national forests in New England and it has six designated wilderness areas.
The area is dominated by New Hampshire’s White Mountains, a subrange of the northern Appalachian Trail.
Lawmakers favor protections
By voice vote in March, New Hampshire legislators in the House passed a resolution encouraging Gov. Kelly Ayotte, Attorney General John Formella and the state’s national delegation to oppose attempts to open roadless areas or diminish protections of state and public lands.
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, called for robust public comment on the matter Tuesday evening and implored the federal officials to focus on “restoring staffing, strengthening research that benefits our rural economies and protecting the places that Granite Staters treasure.”
U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-NH, on Tuesday criticized the Trump administration’s decision “to rush through a repeal of the Roadless Rule” with limited public comment.
“Decisions about how best to manage the Forest and sustain it for generations to come should be made with input from Granite Staters, not by top-down, sudden changes from the federal government,” Hassan said.
New Hampshire’s delegates to the U.S. House of Representatives, Chris Pappas and Maggie Goodlander, similarly critiqued the decision-making process.
“The Forest Service got 1.6 million public comments from across America before establishing the Roadless Area Conservation Rule — now the Trump Administration wants to undo it in 30 days with zero public hearings,” Goodlander said in a statement Wednesday.
“Repealing the Roadless Rule threatens the health of our most important lands, forests, and ecosystems, and it would disrupt the balanced approach developed 25 years ago with exhaustive input from stakeholders and the public,” Pappas said. “I will work to ensure Granite Staters have a strong voice in this process, and I’ll keep fighting against the reckless actions of the Trump Administration that jeopardize our environment and way of life in New Hampshire.”
Members of the public can submit their comments at regulations.gov.
“Beyond that, I think people should write letters to the media expressing their feelings, if these areas were to be compromised,” Russell said. “It’s important for people to tell their own story.”