Attorney Argues Against Rescinding 2001 Roadless Rule
A guest column by Sangye Ince-Johannsen, an attorney, argues against a federal proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule, which protects 44.7 million acres of public land in the West from new roads and commercial logging. The author contends that…
Medford Klamath Falls, OR, October 3, 2026 — An attorney is raising concerns over a federal proposal that could lead to the rescission of the 2001 Roadless Rule. The rule, currently in effect, safeguards approximately 44.7 million acres of public land across the Western United States from the construction of new roads and commercial logging activities.
Sangye Ince-Johannsen, an attorney, penned a guest column outlining arguments against the proposed rescission. According to Ince-Johannsen, repealing the 2001 Roadless Rule could have detrimental effects on various wildlife habitats. The attorney cited the marbled murrelet as an example of a species whose habitat could be negatively impacted.
Furthermore, the column questions the effectiveness of arguments presented by the Forest Service regarding wildfire mitigation in relation to road construction. Ince-Johannsen suggests that the creation of new roads could potentially increase ignition sources for wildfires, rather than mitigate them.
The commentary also highlighted specific areas in Southern Oregon that would be affected by such a change, including the Kangaroo roadless area and North Kalmiopsis. The author has encouraged the public to submit comments on the federal proposal.
Information regarding the specific details of the federal proposal, including timelines for public comment and the Forest Service’s official rationale for considering the rescission, was not provided in the summary. The potential impact on specific industries or communities was also not detailed.
Story summarized from the original created by none on rv-times.com, see more information here.
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