New Hampshire Sierra Club’s Public Lands Team To Build Support for Roadless Rule
Committee Chair: Jerry Curran, NH Sierra Club Volunteer
Re: Roadless Rule
What’s at Stake: The proposed rollback of the 2001 Roadless Rule jeopardizes nearly 58 million acres of undeveloped backcountry forestland managed by the U.S. Forest Service, comprising around a third of the territory in our national forest system. These forests have only remained intact because of the Forest Service's nearly 25-year-old commitment not to build roads in these areas for harmful activities like major logging operations or oil-and-gas drilling.
Recreation Spots at Risk: Since 2001, protected roadless areas have offered abundant outdoor recreation opportunities such as hunting, fishing, camping or other activities. Every year, millions of people take advantage of the free (or extremely affordable) access to these public lands. According to maps from Outdoor Alliance’s GIS Lab, roadless areas protect 11,337 climbing routes and boulder problems, more than 1,000 whitewater paddling runs, 43,826 miles of trail, and 20,298 mountain biking trails. Large sections of the Continental Divide, Pacific Crest, and Appalachian National Trails traverse protected roadless areas.
ROADLESS Area in New Hampshire Factsheet:
white-mountain-forest-factsheet-v1.pdf
Jerry and the Public Lands Team need you to share and volunteer your time, skills and expertise. Make sure you fill out the volunteer survey on the homepage!
BACKGROUND AND RESOURCES
Roadless Rule Factsheet - good resource for explaining the value of the rule
Map of roadless areas -- excellent nationwide map of public lands
Timeline of the Roadless Rule – development of the Rule through present day
July 2025 Sierra Magazine Article - Gives a national perspective
Talking Points on Roadless Sheet -- more writing tips for letters and comments
Sharing to Social Media Tool -- To help you post onto social media websites
Forest Fires and Roadless Areas Report -- From the Wilderness Society
Take Action
Write a public letter to your paper: https://win.newmode.net/protectourforests
The Public Lands Team coordinates public support for public lands, both federal and state, with coalition partners and state agencies. Interested? Contact Team at NHSC603@gmail.com.