Public lands are where our families hunt, fish, hike and camp. They protect the headwaters that supply our communities, provide habitat for wildlife and support outfitters, guides and small businesses across the state. That is why the federal government’s effort to repeal the Roadless Rule should concern every Montanan.
For more than two decades, the Roadless Rule has limited new road construction and large-scale timber harvesting in undeveloped portions of our national forests. It recognizes that some places should not be permanently carved up when they can be managed through less destructive means.
The administration claims repealing the rule will promote common-sense management and reduce wildfire risk. But real forest management requires trained workers, functioning equipment and reliable federal funding. The Forest Service already faces an agency-wide deferred maintenance backlog of more than $8.6 billion. Roads, trails, campgrounds, bridges and other infrastructure across our public lands need repairs today. Building additional roads into previously undeveloped areas would create even more infrastructure that taxpayers will eventually be expected to maintain.
It makes little sense for Washington to underfund the roads we already have while promising that constructing more of them is the solution.
Federal investments such as the Land and Water Conservation Fund have supported hundreds of recreation and public-access projects throughout Montana. Those investments help communities care for public spaces, expand outdoor opportunities and keep Montana’s recreation economy strong.
That is what serious stewardship looks like: providing the resources needed to maintain access, protect watersheds and responsibly manage the land.
Instead, the federal government is attempting to remove Roadless Rule protections from tens of millions of acres nationwide, including millions of acres in Montana. Some political voices, including Aaron Flint, have “cheered” the move. But celebrating the removal of protections is easy. Explaining who will pay for the new roads — and who will repair them — is much harder.
Montanans should reject the false choice between healthy forests and protected public lands. Congress and the administration should adequately fund the Forest Service, hire the people needed to do the work and invest in maintaining existing infrastructure.
Public lands belong to all of us. Protecting them requires both sensible safeguards and the federal commitment to properly fund their care.