Jennifer Boyer: We need to modernize Roadless Rule, not toss it out

Prior to serving on the Gallatin County Commission, I spent decades emersed in collaborative efforts addressing natural resources. These consensus-driven approaches wrestled with endangered species, drought management, public lands, and recreation conflicts to forge solutions supporting resource health and community well-being.

Counties are on the front lines working with diverse interests and agencies on issues surrounding the management the federal lands within our borders. Gallatin County is a dedicated member of the Custer-Gallatin Working Group, a collaborative working with interests that include agriculture, mining, logging, recreation of all types, and county governments spanning the Custer Gallatin National Forest.

Across a variety of backgrounds and party affiliations, we work from a zone of agreement around active forest management that includes timber harvest and protecting wild country.

Montanans have been working within the parameters of the 2001 Roadless Rule, and while there have been conflicts and differing opinions, there have been mutual gains and success implementing projects that support forest and community needs.

The administration’s proposed repeal of the 2001 Roadless Rule would wipe out more than two decades of trust and progress that local efforts have made. These efforts have been successful because local knowledge of the resources and forest conditions inform management projects.

Much of the inventoried roadless land was marked as such because of limited timber availability and the high cost of building new roads. Since these areas were identified, costs for road development have continued to rise, we have fewer mills to process timber, and management of species like the grizzly bear hinge on limiting habitat fragmentation.

There is much to be gained from revising the rule. First and foremost, the collaborative work of Montana interests can steer land-use direction and projects.

That means more flexible options for fuels reduction and mechanical thinning to reduce fire risk. That means consistency across forests, which streamlines the permitting process.

It means responsible use of our lands for the extractive industry while ensuring ecological health and that the millions of dollars communities reap from recreation and tourism continue to flow.

Land-management decisions that are informed at a local level with invested stakeholders are best for our counties and our state.

We don’t need to throw out the Roadless Rule, we need to take our successes and what we have learned over the past 25 years and adapt it — it is time to modernize the Roadless Rule, not repeal it.