Great news for roadless areas

Brule Mountain roadless unit in the Superior National Forest

Marking a victory for our dwindling wild lands, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced today that he has issued a “time out” for road building, logging, and other development in National Forest roadless areas. The measure will protect these wild lands–which were protected by President Bill Clinton with enormous public support–for one year, until a permanent strategy for protecting the areas can be enacted.

Our last unprotected wild lands

Minnesota has about 62,000 acres of roadless areas, many of which directly adjoin the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and serve as an important buffer zone for development, pollution, invasive species and noise pollution in the Boundary Waters.

Nationwide, roadless areas are some of the last undeveloped lands and are important areas for backcountry recreation, habitat for wildlife, and the source of clean drinking water.

Overwhelming public support

During the public review process in 2000 for President Clinton’s roadless rule, more than 31,000 Minnesotans submitted comments to the Forest Service on the plan. Ninety-seven percent of those comments were in favor of complete and permanent protection of roadless areas.

Nationally, the public involvement process was one of the most intense in history, with more comments being submitted to the agency than for any other proposal previously. The Forest Service received 1.2 million comments, of which 96 percent were in favor of protection.

Good news for the those who love the BWCAW

The Boundary Waters was once “merely” the “Superior Roadless Area.” From that first stage of protection, the most popular wilderness in the country was created.

Now, in the face of growing visitor use in the Boundary Waters, with solitude increasingly difficult to find, protecting roadless areas is one of the best ways to ensure the wilderness stays wild and that our kids and grandkids will always have places for adventure and exploration.

For more information about Minnesota roadless areas and the work the Friends does to protect them, visit our Roadless Areas page.

One Comment

• Good News for Roadless Areas (BTW, What’s a Roadless Area?) :: UpNorthica says:

  June 1, 2009 at 5:57 am

  [...] the good news: Thursday, President Obama put a halt to logging and development in all National Forest roadless areas. Although the order is good for only one year (during which a long-term policy can be formed,) it [...]

  Reply