Defenders of Montana’s roadless backcountry know the importance of vigilance. Threats to the wild public lands we cherish, it seems, never end and we continually find ourselves needing to speak up on their behalf.
The latest threat is a plan hatched in Washington, D.C., to end the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which places limits on new road construction in more than 6.4 million acres of public land in Montana, and in almost 60 million acres nationally. Rescinding the rule would spell disaster for Montana’s outdoor heritage. We can’t allow D.C. bureaucrats, people who don’t understand nor appreciate our way of life, to bulldoze our sporting traditions.
The Roadless Rule is a simple policy that protects wild places, water quality, wildlife habitat and Montanans’ recreational opportunities, but also allows for forest management activities, including timber harvests and other fuels reduction projects, that help reduce wildfires and protect our homes and families.
Twenty years ago this month, I was among 50-some Montana hunters who participated in a “march in” from one of these roadless spots — the Lazyman-Black Mountain Roadless Area near Helena — to our state Capitol, to highlight the value of Montana’s remaining wild spaces.
Our governor back then, Brian Schweitzer, listened to us and got the message.
Greeting our hunter-orange and camo-clad crowd in the Capitol rotunda, he recognized us as “a group of people who are committed to the ideals of Theodore Roosevelt” and noted that “conservation is an American value.”
And he proclaimed that “the days of polarizing wild places are gone. We are the Treasure State and there is no greater treasure than our wild lands.”
Several days ago, also this month, I again joined my fellow Montanans to speak up for our roadless areas. And this time, I was joined by nearly 1,000 of them, in seven communities across our state.
We didn’t speak at a U.S. Forest Service public hearing, but at meetings conservation groups had to organize on their own, because USFS has scheduled NO public hearings at all on this important issue. Not in Montana. Not anywhere. Nevertheless, we gathered our own comments to send to Washington.
Clearly, in 2026, the current administration is doing its best to gut the system that has worked to sustain these wild lands for decades by trying to erase public participation in the management of OUR lands.
But we’re speaking up anyway, each of us sharing why these areas are so important.
I have been deeply involved with Roadless Areas as a certified wildlife biologist who worked for Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks for 33 years, and, since retiring, for another 20 years, as a volunteer with Helena Hunters and Anglers.
Like my fellow hunters, I have stories about the unparalleled hunting and fishing experiences these backcountry areas provide and their importance to fish and wildlife habitat and in providing clean water. It’s only when we get away from roads that we can truly enjoy the quiet solace of nature, a true “treasure” that must be preserved.
In Montana, a state of 93 million acres, 87% has been industrialized, cropped, mined, and otherwise developed, leaving maybe 12% in a relatively wild state. Wildlands in the form of Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs), and Wilderness Study Areas, are what the special interests are coming for, and Wilderness Areas may be next.
We can’t let this happen.
For more than 100 years, caring, generous people have been coming together to democratically decide the future of our lands.
As President Theodore Roosevelt once predicted: It would be the “unborn souls in the womb of time,” and those who live in the neighborhood of these lands, that would determine their future.
We are those unborn souls and we have an obligation to fulfill. We are not going to back away now! Tell USFS Chief Tom Schultz we need hearings and tell our leaders in Congress that the Roadless Rule must be retained.
The public will get a short window to make comments when the draft environmental impact statement on the plan is released. Follow your favorite conservation group for updates and check in here for news: roadlessrulemt.org
Gayle Joslin is a retired wildlife biologist and a member of Helena Hunters and Anglers. She lives in Helena.