The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced its intention to revise the Travel Management Rule governing motorized vehicle use on almost 200 million acres of federal lands. The current rule requires motorized vehicles to stay on a designated system of roads, trails and areas in national forests and grasslands — an essential policy for wildlife conservation.
This revision comes directly on the heels of this week’s announcement to repeal the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which could subject 45 million acres of remote backcountry forests to clearcut logging, road-building and other development. The combined effect, if the rollbacks are successful, would be to strip key protections from our national forests, including some of our most valued wildlife habitat in the nation.
Defenders of Wildlife's director of national forests and public lands program Vera Smith issued the following response:
“The USDA’s announcement to gut the Travel Management Rule and the Roadless Rule in the same week is a one-two punch that together deals a tremendous blow to wildlife. The Travel Management Rule states simply that motorized vehicles must stay on routes and areas designated locally for that use. The Forest Service issued the rule over 20 years ago to curb damage from unmanaged recreation, reduce user conflict and protect public safety. Rescinding it now is irresponsible and reckless.”
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For nearly 80 years, Defenders of Wildlife has worked to protect and restore America’s wildlife at risk of extinction, advancing a vision of a future in which wildlife thrives, sustained by broad public support and a resilient network of healthy lands and waters. With a network of more than 2 million supporters, Defenders is an advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroom or follow us on Instagram @defendersofwildlife.
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