Federal Bill May Repeal ‘Roadless Rule’ That Protects Wisconsin Forest

Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Joshua Mayer (CC-BY-SA)

An amendment added to a bipartisan wildfire bill in the U.S. Senate would end protections for millions of acres of roadless areas on national forest land, including in Wisconsin.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 11-9 along party lines to include a Republican-authored amendment to repeal the controversial “roadless rule” under the Wildfire Prevention Act. The legislation next heads to the full Senate.

First passed in 2001, the rule prevents logging and road construction on almost 59 million acres of national forest land, including 69,000 acres of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Wisconsin. That’s less than 5 percent of the forest’s over 1.5 million acres in Wisconsin.

Unlike in western states, very few fires in Wisconsin stem from lightning or other natural causes, said Paul Strong, former forest supervisor of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Around 98 percent of wildfires in Wisconsin are caused by people, and the No. 1 cause of wildfires is burning debris.

Strong said rescinding the roadless rule would not make the forest noticeably safer.

“Even if roads were put into those areas, it wouldn’t be a noticeable change (where people) would say, ‘Yeah, we’ve just reduced fire risk significantly,’” Strong said. “That would almost be laughable.”

Supporters of the rule say it protects against the spread of invasive species, maintains higher air and water quality and supports biodiversity. But as the West faces significant wildfire risk, Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee, who chairs the Senate committee, said the roadless rule has “wreaked havoc” on western communities.

“The rule restricts access for multiple use on nearly 59 million acres of Forest Service lands in ways that, in different respects, have a tendency to increase wildfire risk and danger in communities and limit economic activity,” Lee said during the Wednesday hearing.

The move comes as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which houses the Forest Service, is making a separate push to repeal the rule that’s still under review.

Cassie Steiner with the Sierra Club Wisconsin chapter said it’s frustrating to see the repeal of the roadless rule included in the wildfire bill, adding fires usually occur near roads. In California, the Forest Service found two-thirds of fires in the southern portion of the state started along roadways.

“It’s really disappointing to see fake information about how repealing this rule would benefit wildfire prevention. In reality, it just opens our wildest places up for development and extractive industry,” said Steiner, the group’s senior campaign coordinator.

A 2020 study by the U.S. Forest Service found that a lack of roads has not stopped fire prevention. The research found forests with and without roads have burned at similar rates since the rule took effect.

“Speculation that eliminating road prohibitions would improve forest health is not supported by nearly 20 years of monitoring data,” the study states.

U.S. Senate Democrats on the committee said they were disappointed about its inclusion in the bill to address wildfire threats by increasing prescribed burns and thinning of forests, which are among prevention measures used in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.

Strong said there shouldn’t be a blanket approach to the rule, noting Wisconsin forests aren’t incredibly fire prone when compared with those in arid western states. But the number of wildfires in Wisconsin has increased in recent years as the state has seen significant droughts and changing climate conditions. Climate scientists say the state is becoming more vulnerable to wildfires.

Even so, Strong said large blazes like the 2013 Germann Road Fire that burned nearly 7,500 acres across northern Wisconsin are rare, and repealing the roadless rule would do little to significantly reduce wildfire risk.

Federal wildfire bill may repeal ‘roadless rule’ that protects national forest land in Wisconsin was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.