The U.S. Forest Service has announced plans to roll back protections on approximately 63,000 acres of Georgia forest currently safeguarded from roadbuilding and commercial logging. These protected areas are located within the Chattahoochee National Forest in North Georgia and are covered under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which restricts new road construction and commercial logging.
Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz stated that the goal of lifting these restrictions is to improve wildfire suppression and allow for more active forest management. “For nearly 25 years, the Roadless Rule has frustrated land managers and served as a barrier to action – prohibiting road construction, which has limited wildfire suppression and active forest management,” Schultz said. “The forests we know today are not the same as the forests of 2001. They are dangerously overstocked and increasingly threatened by drought, mortality, insect-borne disease, and wildfire. It’s time to return land management decisions where they belong – with local Forest Service experts who best understand their forests and communities.”
The agency also noted that this move is consistent with President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at reducing regulations. “The proposal aligns with President Trump’s Executive Order 14192, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulationto get rid of overcomplicated, burdensome barriers that hamper American business and innovation,” according to the release.
Environmental groups have expressed concern about potential impacts on wildlife habitats, clean water sources, recreation opportunities, and preservation of old-growth trees in these areas. Jennette Gayer, state director of Environment Georgia, commented: “The network of roadless areas throughout the Chattahoochee National Forest help keep logging at bay and provide vital water and wildlife protections for the nature surrounding two of Georgia’s most treasured natural spaces, the Appalachian and Benton MacKaye trails. It is more important to protect these areas than to get a little more wood, build one more mine or construct one more road. Let’s keep our wild forests wild.”
A study by The Wilderness Society found that constructing roads into previously roadless areas could lead to an increase in fires because lands near roads have higher wildfire ignition densities.
According to a statement from the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), removing these protections would open up land for mining, oil and gas development, as well as timber production. The SELC noted: “Roadless protections are especially important in the southeastern United States, where much of our public land has already been fragmented by roadbuilding to extractive industry. The Roadless Rule ensures that backpackers, mountain bikers, climbers, and kayakers have a place to get away from roads, machinery, and noise.”
The process began when the Forest Service filed a Notice of Intent in late August in the Federal Register to start rescinding these protections; this filing officially starts a rulemaking process during which public comments will be accepted until September 19.
Sam Evans leads SELC’s National Forests and Parks Program. He said: “People in the Southeast and across the country want a place to get away from the noise and commotion of roads and development. The Roadless Rule promises that our least-developed public lands can be enjoyed by all of us for generations to come without the threat of reckless roadbuilding and other destructive projects.
“Getting rid of it will degrade popular recreation areas, imperil already-rare wildlife, and do long-lasting harm to our national forests as well as the communities and local economies that depend on them,” Evans added.
