On August 18, the United States Department of Agriculture announced its plans to rescind the Roadless Rule, a longstanding policy that protects millions of acres of National Forest land from new road building and large-scale logging. If finalized, the proposal will remove protections from 45 million acres of National Forests across the country. This directly impacts the Arizona National Scenic Trail on the Coronado, Tonto and Kaibab National Forests.

In their announcement, the USDA claims the Roadless Rule presents barriers to wildfire risk reduction work. However, research shows that the majority of wildfires start near roads, and building new roads into roadless areas will actually increase the probability of new wildfires in these areas.

Please participate in the 30-day public comment before September 19. Tell the USDA how roadless areas are important to you, and the Roadless Rule should remain intact. Working together, we hope to overwhelm the agency with comments in support of the Roadless Rule, and opposition to rescinding it. After all, when the rule was established in 2001 after extensive public input, it set a record for the most public comments ever received in support of an administrative rule ever.

COMMENT HERE

Roadless areas are some of the last undeveloped backcountry landscapes in our National Forests – places where people hike, ride, hunt, and explore. The proposed rescission will roll back protections on more than 25,000 miles of trails. This rule was established to protect what we love.

Without the Roadless Rule in place, backcountry forests could be opened to new road construction and industrial timber harvests that permanently change the recreation experience and the significant qualities of the landscapes that led to the AZT being designated a National Scenic Trail. Please join us in defending the Roadless Rule!