(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) A hiker heads up the Mill D North Fork trail in Big Cottonwood Canyon on Thursday, Aug 4, 2022.
Over the years exploring the Wasatch Mountains, I have witnessed an incredible amount of change.
There's seasonal change: Leaves redden, rattle and fall, welcoming the crisp days of fall. The winter always strikes with ferocity, the deep snow being the reason so many live and visit here. I watch the meltdown into summer: creeks and streams rushing into waterfalls and down to our city.
And, of course, I have seen change prompted by humans: new roads, new lodges, new pressures and people from all walks of life enjoying the mountain range we are all lucky to call home. But today, we face a dangerous and insidious change -- cutbacks to popular rules and management that have long been the standard in clean water and open space.
Around the turn of the 20th century, our mountains and canyons had been subject to a sordid history of abuse. They were mined then over timbered, over grazed, and left barren. The forest, as a natural and intact ecosystem, provides some of the best filtration for our drinking water, and that filter had been critically damaged. While other threats have emerged, we did learn from those years, and overtime, with help from the U.S. Forest Service and Salt Lake Public Utilities, we have created laws, zoning, and boundaries that protect the land and water for current and future generations.
One such piece of federal policy is known as the 2001 Roadless Rule. The Roadless Rule identified "inventoried roadless areas," or land on which we are able to recreate, explore, and enjoy in a relatively naturalized state. Because of the lack of roads, we protect the watershed. With fewer people driving into and using areas, it has been shown we are less likely to see forest fires ignite, while still seeing success in large-scale fuel mitigation projects. These are places that are wild for our sake, and for the sake of the wider ecosystem.
In June, the Trump Administration's USDA moved to rescind the Roadless Rule. Utah was explicitly mentioned in their press release. In our state alone, over four million acres of forest lands are protected by the Roadless Rule and could be opened up to exploitation. This path is completely antithetical to a sustainable future for the Wasatch Range.
If you were mad about losing your public lands to the highest bidder in the Big Beautiful Bill, you should be outraged by the rescission of the Roadless Rule. Here in the Wasatch, we could lose protections for hundreds of thousands of acres in concerning areas. Under the guise of forest and fire management, private industry will work to turn the woods into dollars through thoughtless timbering and new development of some of your favorite landscapes.
We know that through collaborative efforts, and creative, nature-based solutions, we can provide for our needs. We can mitigate fire risks, protect watersheds, and develop new places for people to live, while also protecting the health and integrity of our forests and ecosystems here in the Wasatch.
When I think about roadless areas here, I picture a quiet stand of forest in Mill D, on the north side of Big Cottonwood Canyon. In every season, this place provides solace, peace, and a way for me to connect with undeveloped nature. It is where I learned how to backcountry ski, and now in turn, where I take new skiers out to understand snowpack, make turns in fresh powder and stand in the stillness of aspens and Douglas fir.
Over the years, our world has changed, and while the leaves turn in that glade each season, it remains constant because of the protections we have given it. The character of the place has taught me patience and the importance of connection. From it, I have learned to be a better person, both while I travel through nature, as well as when I come back to my life here in Salt Lake City. So, the biggest change has really been within myself, and for that I am grateful to the protected wild.
We need policies like the Roadless Rule to protect these places. We must use our voice to speak for these intact forests that otherwise could be on the literal chopping block. From now until Sept. 19, citizens of the Wasatch have a chance to comment on the undoing of the Roadless Rule during the Environmental Impact Statement Scoping Process. I hope you will join me in telling our government that we need to see the continued benefits of a roadless Wasatch Range now and for those that come after us.
(Jack Stauss) Jack Stauss is the executive director of Save Our Canyons.
Jack Stauss spends seasons exploring the Wasatch Mountains on foot, bike and skis. He's the executive director of Save Our Canyons, whose mission it is to protect the wildness and beauty of the range. He lives and works in Salt Lake City.
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