Supporting the Roadless Rule

by Tim Marchant, St. Ignatius

Twenty years ago, prominent Montana conservationists marched 7 miles from a local  Helena roadless area to the steps of the state capital. It was a symbolic march in support  of the federal Roadless Area Conservation Rule, adopted in 2001.  

Today, many of those same conservationists, and several new ones, are once again  inspired to rally in defense of the Roadless Rule, which the Trump administration is  threatening to rescind. We, the Montana Conservation Elders, support lasting  protection for inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest System and join  with our fellow conservationists as proponents of wild places in Montana.  

MCE seeks to protect the legacy of past Montana stewardship and to ensure the future of  public access to wild places for our children, grandchildren, and generations to come. In  that respect, by supporting the Roadless Rule, we seek to uphold the Montana  Constitution: “The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and  healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations.”  

The next generation will be the witness to our commitment to wilderness  landscapes,”…where the Earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man.”