What
are Roadless Areas 
Roadless areas are special places in our national forests, which are designated by the US Forest Service due to their remote, natural and undisturbed attributes. Generally speaking, the Forest Service considers roadless areas to be those parts of the national forests without roads or with very low road density (less than 1/2 mile road per 1,000 acres). While not officially protected from logging and road building activities, the Forest Service makes an official inventory of these areas from time to time including whenever the individual management plan for each forest is updated.
What is the Status of Roadless Areas
The Roadless Area Conservation Rule was enacted by the Clinton Administration in January of 2001, after three years of the largest public participation process in US history. This rule protected the last third of America 's national forests while still allowing new road construction in emergency situations, such as fighting fires or ensuring public safety. The Roadless Rule assured Americans that their national forests will continue to provide critical "ecosystem services" like clean drinking water, clean air, erosion and flood control, habitat for wildlife, and endless opportunities for recreation and solitude.
On May 5, 2005 the Bush Administration replaced the Roadless Area Conservation Rule of 2001, and effectively removed federal protection on 553,000 acres of pristine national forests in the Southern Appalachians and millions of acres across the country. The new Bush Administration rule requires individual states to spend thousands of hours petitioning the federal government to protect their individual unspoiled areas of federal lands from logging, mining and road building.
On September 20, 2006 a federal court struck down the 2005 rule after determining that the Forest Service did not properly analyze the environmental effects of overturning the nationwide roadbuilding ban under the 2001 Clinton rule. Meanwhile, the Bush administration is moving forward with the petition process which allows states to recommend which areas in national forests should be opened to, or protected from roadbuilding, despite the recent court ruling. Administration officials told a U.S. Forest Service advisory panel on October 18, 2006 that they intend to amend the Clinton-era Roadless Rule by allowing governors to petition the agency to develop state-specific rules under the Administrative Procedure Act.
How is SAFC Working to Protect These Areas
Our Coalition’s efforts have been successful and the south leads the nation in roadless area protection through the state petition process. Three Southern Appalachian states – Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina - were the first in the nation to petition for protection of the roadless areas within their national forests. On June 21st, the Roadless Area Conservation National Advisory Committee (RACNAC) made a recommendation to the Secretary of Agriculture to accept all three petitions - requesting those roadless areas to be fully protected. Although this process is not complete, if these state petitions are honored, this will represent protection for 460,381 acres of forest land in the south.
SAFC coordinated and conducted meetings with Coalition representatives and the Governor’s staff and provided expertise, assistance, and support for conservation groups and Governors. We also defended roadless areas at the project level by utilizing our expert GIS mapping and analysis. Along with our forest watch network and legal teams, we defend roadless forests across the region from timber activities and road projects in order to maintain their integrity for future broad scale protection efforts.
Given the recent ruling, SAFC plans to follow the resulting situation closely and will continue to provide regional leadership on national-level strategy and coordination. Stay tuned...we will keep you posted as events unfold.
