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By Robert Bonnie
Mr. Bonnie oversaw the U.S. Forest Service and roadless policy during the Obama administration.
When some friends and I ventured into Wyoming’s Shoshone National Forest near Yellowstone National Park this month, we found spectacular mountain scenery, elk and grizzly bears happily gorging themselves on moths that feed on alpine flowers. Grizzlies need huge areas to roam and are abundant in the Shoshone in part because of the combination of wilderness designated by Congress and adjacent roadless areas, where road building and other development are prohibited.
Under the 2001 Roadless Rule enacted by President Bill Clinton, millions of acres of roadless areas on national forests across the country are conserved, protecting vital habitats and watersheds and unique areas for backcountry hunting, hiking and camping. A “blank spot on a map,” in the words of the naturalist Aldo Leopold, is increasingly valuable in our urbanizing society.
