DRA Supports Keeping the Roadless Rule
Dark green protects blue waters: inventoried roadless lands help protect Oregon’s rivers, especially the Deschutes. Map courtesy of Oregon Wild.
Comments on Rescinding the Roadless Rule Due September 21st
The Deschutes River Alliance has filed comments in the federal register against the proposed Rescission of the Roadless Area Rule. Adapted as federal policy in 2001, the Roadless Rule protects 58 million acres across the United States. It places a moratorium on road building on existing roadless federal lands. Signifiant portions of the Deschutes River Basin are protected by the policy. While the DRA continues to fight for cooler, cleaner water in the lower Deschutes River, we recognize river protection begins in the uplands. We strongly encourage our supporters to file their own citizen comments. The portal for comments: government portal at regulations.gov. Enter the docket number FS-2025-0001 to make your voice heard. The deadline is 9 p.m. on September 21st. Our comments are posted below. Feel free to use the information we gathered, but original comments are most effective. If so moved, make your voice heard for the Deschutes.
DRA Comments on Rescission of The Roadless Area Conservation Rule
The Deschutes River Alliance has worked since 2014 to protect and restore water quality in the lower Deschutes River. Though we are focused on the lower 100 miles of the Deschutes River watershed in north-central Oregon, our science-based advocacy approach compels us to comment on the proposed rescission of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, as it affects the health of the entire Deschutes watershed.
In Oregon, the Forest Service alone has built and maintains approximately 90,000 miles of roads on federal lands. For a single state, Oregon’s Forest Service roads represent a disproportionate share of the 380,000 to 650,000 Forest Service roads inventoried in the United States. In comparison to other states, this means Oregon has already borne a disproportionate share of the damage these roads have done. Fragmented habitat for fish and wildlife, erosion, greater risk from human-caused wildfires, reckless harvest of timber, and risk to municipal water supplies are well-documented costs of the federal road building program.
By its own admission, the Forest Service can’t pay for the road system it currently has. According to the Forest Service’s website as well as the non-profit Taxpayers for Common Sense, the Forest Service’s annual appropriations for operation and maintenance only covers about 20% of the actual cost of taking care of these roads, leaving a backlog of deferred maintenance estimated to cost $5-8 billion.
Specifically for the Deschutes River, the 137,000 acres of inventoried roadless lands protected under the Roadless Area Conservation Rule help protect the headwaters of one of the state’s most beloved rivers, as well as in its most pristine tributary, the Metolius River. Similarly, the 61,000 acres of inventoried roadless area in the Ochoco Mountains protect flows and water quality in the Crooked River, another Deschutes tributary.
The two million acres of federal land in Oregon currently protected by the Roadless Rule also protect drinking water for 800,000 Oregonians, including the city of Bend; with more than 100,000 residents, it is the largest city within the Deschutes River watershed.
Last, the lands protected since 2001 under the Roadless Area Conservation Rule are places where Oregonians hunt, fish, hike, camp, and bird-watch. The Deschutes River is one of Oregon’s most beloved recreational destinations. It is appreciated for its beauty, its pristine water and land, and the opportunity it provides for Oregonians to connect to nature and one another. In Deschutes County alone, these recreational activities account for more than a billion dollars a year.
For all these reasons, the Deschutes River Alliance strongly opposes the rescission of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
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