BANFF Tickets on Sale Now
BANFF Tickets on Sale Now
In our last edition of Vistas, we sounded the alarm on an unprecedented threat to America’s last wild forests: the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
For 25 years, the Roadless Rule has safeguarded 58.5 million acres of national forest land nationwide—including nearly 152,000 acres in Western North Carolina’s Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests. These undeveloped landscapes filter clean drinking water for millions, protect wildlife habitat, store vast amounts of carbon, and anchor our region’s outdoor recreation economy.
Since our last update, the federal effort to strip away these protections moved into high gear—and public lands supporters across Western North Carolina and the nation responded in historic numbers.
On the rule’s 25th anniversary, the USDA isn’t just trying to strip protections from our public lands—it is trying to do so without hearing from the people.
When the Roadless Rule was first proposed in October 1999, the Forest Service (an agency within the USDA) launched an extensive outreach effort across the country. Through the following year, the Forest Service hosted over 600 public hearings and collected a record-breaking 1.6 million comments, roughly 90% in support. Today, the contrast is stark: the agency gave the public a rushed comment window and held zero public hearings.
When the Forest Service refused to hold public hearings, MountainTrue committed to holding them ourselves so our community could be heard. Since March, we have hosted ten community hearings and rallies across Western North Carolina—including in Asheville, Boone, Brevard, Franklin, Hayesville, Swannanoa, and Waynesville—reaching over 1,000 people.
To educate attendees on what is at stake in our backyard, we partnered with local filmmaker Aidin Robbins to screen “Why We Need the Roadless Rule”—his documentary highlighting the direct impacts a repeal would have on our Pisgah and Nantahala forests. Through these rallies, we collected over 800 handwritten postcards and distributed 2,200 more to be mailed in by public land owners like you.
Working alongside a national coalition of nonprofits, we aimed to match the historic wave of public input from 2001. To help citizens cut through red tape and track submissions, MountainTrue board member Nick Holshouser built custom civic tools at Roadless.org and analyzed the federal docket via RoadlessDefense.org.
When the comment period officially closed on October 6, the national total reached 1.1 million comments, with handwritten postcards still trickling in. A data analysis revealed an overwhelming mandate: 99% of commenters opposed repealing the Roadless Rule.
The message from Western North Carolina and across the country could not be clearer: Americans want their wildest forests kept intact, road-free, and in public hands. As the USDA reviews the public record, MountainTrue and our partners will continue holding the agency accountable to the science, the law, and the will of the people. Thank you for showing up, writing postcards, and defending our public lands.
