Standing for Silence: Utah Rallies Behind the Roadless Rule

Last week, we got to witness an outpouring of love, frustration, and advocacy for National Forests at our Roadless Rule event that we had the pleasure of co-hosting alongside Save Our Canyons, Utah Sierra Club, and The Grand Canyon Trust. The Roadless Rule protects our National Forests from unnecessary development, allowing forest areas to be a place of solitude for humans and animals alike. 

Originally enacted in 2001 under the Clinton administration, the Roadless Rule received some of the largest engagement during comment periods of any lands bill. Nationwide, it protects nearly 45 million acres of grasslands and forests and 4 million in Utah, severely limiting the development of new roads and logging. With each administration, despite regular attempts at rescission, communities across the country have staunchly supported the Roadless Rule, and last Wednesday was just another example.

A packed room listened attentively to panelists as they discussed the significance of the Roadless Rule. Photo courtesy of Brendan Ladd.

Over 130 individuals from across Utah gathered at Millcreek Commons to hold a public hearing, as the United States Forest Service no longer has the funding for these. Due to the current administration’s onslaught of budget cuts to public lands management, the USFS is currently suffering the closure of every regional office in the country and the shuttering of three-quarters of its research facilities. Like many federal offices, budget cuts and restructuring limit the office’s ability to respond to the needs of many Americans, making the role that advocacy organizations play in connecting the public to these issues and entities even more important, and in turn making your voices even more critical.

Led by Jack Stauss, Director of Save Our Canyons, a panel of experts gave a brief overview of the impacts of rescinding the Roadless Rule. The panel had expert voices featuring Cody Perry, Utah Chair of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers; Annika Williams, Policy Director for Winter Wildlands Alliance; Patrick Belmont, Professor of Watershed Sciences at Utah State (and one of our endorsed candidates); and Dave Iverson, Board President of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics.

Our incredible panelists (left to right): Perry Hall, Patrick Belmont, Annika Williams, Jack Stauss, and Dave Iverson. Photo courtesy of Brendan Ladd

Among those 130 individuals were two rural members of our team, Lenise Peterman and Daylene Redhorse, along with four individuals who made hours-long drives from Navajo Nation, St George, and Torrey. Watch Lenise and Daylene give their comments below:

We cannot express our gratitude to everyone, near and far, who came to this Roadless Rule Hearing and contributed their voices to the decades of support this rule has received.