Listening to the pitter-patter of raindrops on the sword ferns at our feet, my friends and I admired the old-growth hemlocks and Douglas firs shooting skyward through the morning fog. We were exploring the Hardesty Mountain Roadless Area less than an hour from Eugene, and we spent the whole time in awe of the beauty of the forest. 

The U.S. Forest Service adopted the Roadless Conservation Area Rule in 2001, protecting nearly 45 million acres of our national forests from road-building and resource extraction. This rule is older than I am, so I’ve never experienced a world without its recreational and climate benefits. 

As the climate crisis worsens, the ecological benefits of intact, healthy forests will become increasingly necessary. On Sept. 2, the UN Environment Programme announced that “global temperature rise is set to cross 1.5°C, likely within the next few years,” and stressed the need for ecological-based carbon storage.

We are already feeling the effects of strengthening climate disasters, and we’re only just bumping up against 1.5ºC of warming, the threshold under which the 2015 Paris Climate Accords aimed to limit warming. These climate disasters will only get worse as we keep heating the planet and blow past our climate targets, so we must safeguard our remaining carbon-sequestering forests.

The same day this alarming report came out, former timber lobbyist and current U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz paid a visit to Oregon. Fellow advocates and I could not let him come to Oregon without showing him that we will not stand for the agency’s plans to rescind the Roadless Rule and destroy these incredible natural areas. 

My generation is lucky to enjoy the benefits of roadless protections. Now, as we’ve been handed a climate emergency, it would be reckless to give them up. The comment period is open until Oct. 6 (check out cascwild.org for guidance), so make your voice heard. Tell the Forest Service you oppose rescinding the Roadless Rule and that our forests are worth more standing.

Jack Dodson
Eugene