This Saturday is National Public Lands Day, an annual day of celebration and caretaking for our shared public spaces – and that includes roadless areas of our national forests.
According to the National Environmental Education Foundation, which coordinates nationwide activities around National Public Lands Day (NPLD), it's "the nation’s largest single-day volunteer event for public lands." Last year, the group counted more than 900 events with 55,000 volunteers across the United States and Puerto Rico.
"Public lands include national parks, forests, monuments, wildlife refuges, grasslands, marine sanctuaries, lakes, and state, county, and city parks – spaces managed by public agencies or nonprofits and open to all," the group explains.
NPLD is especially meaningful to us this year. as the N.C. Chapter, the national Sierra Club, and our allied organizations nationwide are rallying thousands of people to defend the Roadless Rule.
Speak up for the Roadless Rule
and
Volunteer on National Public Lands Day
More than 230 people turned out last week as the Chapter, MountainTrue and the Wilderness Society co-hosted rallies in Boone and Asheville to showcase enduring public support for the Roadless Rule, which the federal government wants to rescind.
Energy at the rallies was high, with attendees passionate about the Roadless Rule and excited to learn more.
Both featured a screening of the film, "Why We Need the Roadless Rule," by Asheville local Aidin Robbins, which encapsulated the importance of the Roadless Rule and why we need to keep protecting it.
"Had my great-grandparents walked these trails, they would have seen clearcuts. Today, I walk through a healthy, mature forest," Aidin said in the film. "And if the Roadless Rule stands, my grandchildren could walk beneath an old growth canopy. I can't tell you how much that future excites me."
Attendees also got guidance on the ins and outs of writing a substantive comment to submit to federal agencies involved in the potential rescission. Many also had questions about the Rule, which were answered by issue experts from the host organizations.
Folks who wrote a comment received one of the Sierra Club's Roadless Rule T-shirts – which we hope will help inspire others to submit comments before the Oct. 6 deadline. They also had a chance to personalize the shirts at our tie-dye stations!
The Roadless Rule was enacted 25 years ago with overwhelming public support. Since 2001, it's protected 45 million acres of undeveloped U.S. Forest Service land from road construction and logging.
That includes more than 172,000 acres in the Pisgah, Nantahala and Croatan national forests in North Carolina. The majority of these areas lack any protection other than their Roadless status, and will be at risk of logging and destructive roadbuilding if it's eliminated.
These acres include popular areas for hiking, hunting, fishing and other recreation, and places where some of the last undisturbed rich, biologically diverse habitats survive – places like Graveyard Fields, Laurel Mountain, and Wilson Creek in the mountains, and Catfish Lake North and Sheep Ridge in the Croatan.
Participants at our rallies said they frequently enjoy recreation in these and other Roadless areas across North Carolina, and have special memories tied to those visits. They were passionate about protecting them and, like filmmaker Aidin, want them to be kept safe and sound for future generations.
If you're planning to head out this Saturday to volunteer on National Public Lands Day (find an event here), we appreciate you! Our shared public spaces – even the most "wild" areas – need good stewards.
Be a good steward for our Roadless areas, too: Tell the federal government to keep the Roadless Rule in place.
Take a minute to think about why you care for these areas, how they protect wildlife habitat, clean water sources, wildlands recreation and more.
Then use our form to personalize and send in your comments by midnight Tuesday, Oct. 6.
The Roadless Rule was a great idea when it was proposed more than 25 years ago. It's been great for the unspoiled areas of OUR public lands – lands that belong to the people, not logging and mining companies. It's up to us to protect them!
About Us: The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with tens of thousands of members and supporters in North Carolina. We help people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, and work to promote clean energy, protect wildlife, safeguard the health of our communities, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action.