We must put an end to the construction of new roads into roadless areas. Habitat loss and fragmentation caused by commercial operations and bulldozed logging roads are major culprits in the current biological crisis. Nearly two-thirds of all National Forest lands are already roaded and developed. But there are still 4045 million acres of unprotected roadless areas in our National Forests. They should stay roadless.
Some species can survive only in roadless areas.
Bull trout are so highly sensitive to siltation caused by logging and roads that they can thrive only in watersheds that are largely roadless. Grizzlies, salmon, gray wolves, lynx, mountain goats and other species are also wilderness-dependent. Protecting roadless areas is the biggest single step we can take right now to begin the process of recovering our imperiled heritage. Such visions may seem unrealistic given the entrenched Forest Service bureaucracy, and a Congress dominated by zealots who would tear down decades of conservation policy and open public lands to the exploiters Teddy Roosevelt fought almost a century ago. But by joining forces, average Americans can overcome any obstacle for the good of the country and future generations.