Local columns

Ending ‘Roadless Rule’ would put Michigan’s outdoor heritage at risk

Since 2001, the 'Roadless Rule' has protected over 45 million acres of mature and old-growth forests across the country, including 16,000 acres here in Michigan. Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced its plan to rescind the rule, opening one final comment period for the public to make their voices heard on this issue. The comment period ends on October 6th

Few places capture the essence of Michigan's outdoor heritage quite like our roadless forests. Fishing the cool headwater reaches of the Big Sable River as it carves through the sand under towering pines. Paddling the cedar-lined emerald shoreline of Government Island, the only fully public island in Lake Huron's beautiful Les Cheneaux archipelago. Scouting for upland bird habitat among the aspen stands that line the West Branch of the Ontonagon River. Now, the Roadless Rule that protects these special places is under threat.

Michigan has six designated Roadless Areas, on both peninsulas and in all three of our national forests. These areas include the Bear Swamp Roadless Area in the Huron-Manistee National Forest, the Government Island National Forest in the Hiawatha National Forest and the Norwich Roadless Area in the Ottawa National Forest.

These forests offer some of the best outdoor recreation in the state, be it hiking, paddling, hunting, fishing or cross-country skiing. They provide critical wildlife habitat for deer, grouse, woodcock, mink, bobcats and more. They also filter headwater streams that flow into the Great Lakes, which provide drinking water for around 40 million people. Rescinding the Roadless Rule would put all this under threat, allowing roads to be built into these forests, opening them up to intensive logging and other extractive industries.

The Forest Service (part of the USDA) is guided by a multiple use principle that is supposed to make space for recreation and ecological management, in addition to timber harvesting. Only 0.5% of Michigan's national forest acreage has been designated a Roadless Area, part of the less than 10% of our forest service lands that are managed primarily for non-commercial uses - called 'designated areas.' Our Roadless Areas were set aside because of their recreational and ecological value and because, in many cases, it is not economically feasible to log these forests. Do we really want to sacrifice our last truly wild forests, and the ecological, recreational and cultural values they hold, all for a bit of extra timber?

Roadless Rule opponents argue that the Rule hinders wildfire management and outdoor recreation - but this isn't the case. The Roadless Rule allows for active fire management and fuel reduction. A recent study by Environment America finds that, since 2010, fewer than 1% of wildfires in the lower 48 states - and none of the costliest fires - have started in Roadless Areas of national forests.

America's roadless forests are also some of the best publicly accessible outdoor recreation areas in the country. In Michigan, that includes the popular North Country Trail that runs through or adjacent to Roadless Areas, the Government Island Roadless Area in Les Cheneaux archipelago, and the Norwich Roadless Area has been identified as some of the best public land upland bird hunting in the state. and is managed as a Michigan Grouse Enhanced Management Site. Nationally, Trout Unlimited found that 70% of public lands in Roadless Areas are home to native trout and salmon, and nearly all western Roadless Areas provide opportunities for elk hunting.

If these incredible forests were opened to intensive commercial harvesting here in Michigan and across the country, future generations would miss out on the numerous benefits they provide, and the outdoor traditions they support.

The USDA's plan puts at risk an essential part of our heritage and identity -- as Michiganders and Americans alike. We urge everyone who values these special places to submit a public comment at saveroadlessforests.com before October 6th opposing the rescission of the Roadless Rule.

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Calvin Floyd is a Conservation Advocate with Environment Michigan, Brandon Yuchasz is the board chair for the Michigan chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.