Roadless Areas on the BMT are Under Threat

The experience hikers have on the Blue Mountains Trail may soon be irrevocably altered unless we act now. The proposed elimination of the long-standing Roadless Rule threatens to open up huge swaths of undeveloped public land to new development, road construction, and logging. Along with “capital W” designated Wilderness Areas, Roadless Areas are some of the wildest, most scenic, and ecologically important acres of any National Forest. For the BMT, revocation could mean drastic changes to the solitude, quiet, and immersion one can expect in some of the Trail’s most beloved segments.

Officially called the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, this Clinton era directive has protected unroaded National Forest land from the most severe impacts of road building and timber extraction. Along the Blue Mountains Trail, this includes the Elkhorn Crest, Joseph Canyon, and nearly all the land the trail traverses in the Hells Canyon Recreation Area. The impacts of logging may be obvious to many recreationists, but sometimes roads cause even greater long-term harm. The Forests in our region are already among the most heavily roaded in the Nation. Building new ones will contribute insignificantly to this administration's misguided and arbitrarily inflated timber quotas, but they will permanently erode the ecological structure and function of these places. Inviting development into our last wild places will change their character forever.

The wildness of the BMT is one of its defining features. Its remote and undeveloped surroundings add to the mystique, challenge, and physical continuity of the backcountry experience. From the earliest concepts of the Trail in the 1970’s, Wilderness was meant to be a highlight of the route. The current path connects all seven designated Wilderness Areas in Northeast Oregon, but three of these, the North Fork Umatilla, the North Fork John Day, and the Monument Rock Wilderness Areas were only designated years later in the 1984 Oregon Wilderness Act. This Act also expanded well-known existing Wilderness Areas like Eagle Cap, Hells Canyon, and Strawberry Mountain.

Expansion like this is usually only possible in those locations deemed to have “wilderness qualities”. Key among these qualities is an absence of active roads. So-called “inventoried roadless areas” are therefore some of the only public lands which are eligible for consideration for Wilderness protections in the future. Many are found in the periphery of existing Wilderness and are precious for some of the same reasons. They create undeveloped buffers around Wilderness, act as migratory corridors between prime habitat, and present opportunities for recreation and traditional uses in a wild setting. Opening these areas to roads and logging impacts not only their short term recreational aesthetics and ecological value, but permanently restricts our ability to advocate for their protection in the future.

What you can do: The US Department of Agriculture is currently accepting comments on their proposal to remove protections for Roadless Areas. The comment period – just 21 days – is the shortest we’ve ever seen for any proposed project, despite it having more significant ramifications than nearly all other proposals we review. If you can, please take 5 minutes to submit a comment stating your opposition to repealing the Roadless Rule.

This interactive map shows these threatened roadless areas, including those that are particularly relevant to the Blue Mountains Trail. Here are a few from south to north on the BMT:

Glacier Mountain, near the southern end of the trail, is a critical island of connection between the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness and Monument Rock Wilderness.

Dixie Butte area surrounds the distinctive feature of the same name and feeds tributaries of the Middle Fork John Day River, the site of multiple riparian and fisheries restoration projects.

Greenhorn Mountain is an especially large area that abuts a satellite of the North Fork John Day Wilderness and contains a diversity of forest types.

Twin Mountain is the area surrounding and including much of the Elkhorn Crest National Recreation Trail and Sumpter. This segment is a particular highlight of the Blue Mountains Trail and contains its high point near Rock Creek Butte at 8400’. This is a prime mountain goat habitat with granite peaks, alpine lakes, and a real adventurous feel.

Crown Point in the Twin Mountain Roadless Area

The Upper Grande Ronde contains the La Grande Watershed and the headwaters of one the most important river systems in our region.

Mt Emily and Hellhole are among most important recreation destinations for the Grande Ronde Valley. Here you can find huckleberry pickers, rock climbers, hunters, and traditional uses of many kinds. It is also a critically important habitat connection between the Blue Mountains south of La Grande and Baker City and the northern Blues extending into Washington.

The South Fork Walla Walla is already a popular recreation destination for folks in the Walla Walla Valley. It's also one of the largest contiguous roadless areas. It abuts the western border of the Wenaha Tucannon Wilderness, connecting habitat in these two watersheds.

Joseph Canyon is a watershed of particular cultural significance to the Nimiipuu (Nez Perce). It provides an island east-west connection between the blues and the Imnaha and Snake River Canyon Lands.

Joseph Canyon Roadless Area

Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, despite its name, could be at risk for logging if the roadless rule were abandoned. Almost 50% of the Hells Canyon NRA is currently protected by the Roadless Rule. It is among the most important habitat zones and right in the middle of the longest stretch of the BMT without a town or resupply.

Lake Fork roadless area is around Fish Lake and Twin Lakes. Southeast of the Eagle Cap Wilderness, it extends toward the Snake River canyonlands to the east and provides a critical connectivity corridor between the two.

Lake Fork Roadless Area

How to comment - (comment period closes Sept 19 at 8:59pm Pacific Time): Option 1: If you have one minute or less, you can sign the pre-written comment that we’ve created below. There is an option to add a few sentences of your own to the bottom.

Option 2: If you have five minutes, please take the time to submit an individual comment through the official comment portal here. Feel free to use the text below, but please personalize with your own details. Even a few sentences about who you are, where you live, and why you love these places ( hike with my family, hunt with friends, etc.) will make a difference.

Dear U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins:

I am writing to express my support for the Roadless Area Conservation Rule of 2001 and its protection of unroaded areas within our National Forest system.

The US Department of Agriculture’s plan to formally rescind the Roadless Rule would open up hundreds of thousands of acres to development on public lands around Hells Canyon, the Eagle Cap Wilderness, the Elkhorns, the headwaters of the John Day River, and more.

Creating roads in these precious areas would permanently damage their ecological function and recreational value. In many cases, the possible contribution to timber quotas would be minimal, but the impacts to our trails, forests, and wildlife would be immense.

I am particularly concerned about potential changes along the Blue Mountains Trail, a 530-mile route in Northeast Oregon. This trail demonstrates the importance of connectivity, between people and place, and between increasingly isolated pockets of undeveloped wildlands.

I oppose the repeal of the Rule and request you keep it in place.