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QuickTake:
As the Trump administration seeks to repeal the rule, activists in Eugene took media and congressional staff on an aerial tour of areas near Eugene that could be affected. A public comment period on the proposal is now open.
Activists with Eugene-based environmental groups flew over the Willamette National Forest on Monday, Sept. 15, surveying thousands of acres that could be opened to road construction if federal protections are lifted.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced in June plans to repeal the 2001 Roadless Rule, which barred road construction on 58 million acres of national forest, including 2 million acres in Oregon. Areas such as Hardesty Mountain near Eugene are protected under the rule.
The administration, along with a regional timber trade group, say that roads provide access to fight wildfires and do fire prevention work. Local organizations — including Oregon Wild; Cascadia Wildlands; and Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology — disagree.
Madeline Cowen, field manager with Cascadia Wildlands, and Tim Ingalsbee, executive director FUSEE, on Monday took flight from Eugene airport, inviting news media members and staff of U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, both Oregon Democrats.
Join the ride, and hear their perspective in this video.
From a small Cessna Turbo 210 with a pilot from EcoFlight, an organization that offers aerial views of landscapes, the activists pushed for strategies to address the wildfire crisis without opening roadless areas — such as partnering with Indigenous peoples who once stewarded the land with low-intensity fire.
Ingalsbee, a former U.S. Forest Service firefighter, added that any gains from road access would be undercut by the increased risk of human-caused wildfires in sensitive areas.
People have until Sept. 19 to submit comments through the Federal Register. The U.S. Forest Service will then review them in preparing an environmental impact statement, which is meant to analyze how development could affect land, water, wildlife and communities. Then another public commenting period could open.
