Position on H.R. 7695

H.R. 7695 - To provide that the final rule titled “Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation” and issued on January 12, 2001 (66 Fed. Reg. 3244) shall have no force or effect and require the Secretary of Agriculture to construct certain roads on National Forest System lands: NPCA opposes this legislation, which would nullify the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. This widely supported management tool has maintained the integrity of key ecosystems on more than 45 million acres of national forestland while allowing timber management to prevent wildfire for nearly a quarter century. The rule was finalized in 2001 after years of tremendous public outreach and overwhelming support. Undoing this commonsense rule could pave the way towards increased oil and gas leasing, mining, industrial logging, and other harmful development on public lands that provide clean water, wildlife habitat and connected protected ecosystems for nearby national parks. National park gateway economies and recreation communities rely on mixed-use public lands. Roadless areas protect access and opportunities for hunting, fishing, hiking, biking and other forms of motorized and non-motorized recreation, along with grazing for ranchers.

NPCA is deeply concerned about the long-term ecological damage to park lands that could result from nullifying the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The health of America’s national parks rely on the ecosystems that surround them, including intact national forests. An NPCA analysis found that of the approximately 45 million acres of designated roadless areas in national forests, nearly 30% (17.5 million acres) are within 30 miles of national park lands. Roadless areas in national forests support wildlife and plant biodiversity, viewsheds and soundscapes, and climate resilience, as well as air and water quality. Wildlife ranging from bears and elk to salmon and songbirds rely on connected and roadless landscapes and waterways for habitat, food and shelter as they travel within and outside of park boundaries. For instance, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail crosses fourteen states and through several roadless areas that support recreation opportunities from Georgia to Maine. Roadless areas within the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems provide habitat connectivity between parks and forest lands and are critical to the long-term success of grizzly bears and other wildlife populations. Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska has the greatest concentration of roadless areas within 30 miles of its boundaries at more than 785,000 acres. The roadless areas within this region support healthy old-growth forests that stretch to the edge of the Gulf of Alaska, supporting the landscape as well as healthy fish populations and clean watersheds.