I think we can all take comfort in the fact that we have protected natural spaces in the United States, mandated to be free from roads and from timber harvest. This protection comes from a piece of legislation called the Roadless Rule. A rare protection of the wild world.

In June of this year, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins declared plans to end the Roadless Rule. 45 million acres of public land, our backcountry spaces, will be opened up to traffic and to logging.

Brooke Rollins claimed the repeal of the rule was an attempt to reduce fire risk, claiming the roads would be an important barrier for fire. This argument is intentionally deceptive. The vast majority of fires are started by humans. 53 percent of wildfires start within 200 meters of a road, 96 percent of wildfires occur within half a mile of a road, according to the Pacific Biodiversity Institute.

The obvious reason for the repeal is to expand logging, which Rollins touts as a victory for the economy. The taxpayer loses nearly $2 billion a year from the federal timber program according to the Center for Sustainable Economy. The repeal of this rule is not to benefit you, or me, or for the health of the forest. This is a money grab for the timber companies at our expense, and we must push back for our collective interest.

Sullivan Goren

Alpena