The U.S. Forest Service has filed to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, opening the door to road building and development across millions of acres of Montana’s wildest national forest country. Before that door swings open, Montanans deserve an honest conversation about what these places mean to us — and what will actually keep our forests healthy.
A little backstory about me is that I moved a lot as a kid, but the one place that always remained a positive constant was when I visited my grandparents, who lived a quiet life along the Yaak River near the upper ford. My grandfather George (Jim) Jameson would often sit silently in the living room, staring out the window within the house he helped build. I can recall him turning to me and saying “this is God’s country” as I looked across the river at what I now know as an inventoried roadless area.
This saying, “God’s country,” can be heard echoing down the Yaak Valley and throughout many places in Northwest Montana.
My point is that we all in our own hearts want to conserve our forests for multiple reasons, and there are multiple ways to do this. We have to find balance. We as a people need to work together to solve our forest conservation issues. These issues have been compounding since the railroad industry laid its tracks down and connected the left and right sides of Montana. Teddy Roosevelt once said, “There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country.”
Over the last 120 years, we have accomplished the job of fire suppression and forest conservation. This success, however, is short-lived. With our denser forests, what we are witnessing — especially during these times of longer fire seasons — is an increase in high-intensity fires.
This is caused by numerous variables like increases in fire-intolerant species, ladder fuels, and canopy fuel accumulation. At the same time, timber mortality exceeds our harvest rate and forest growth outpaces production. As the Wildland Urban Interface continues to grow, so does the cost to suppress fire. High-risk areas are accounting for a third of the fire cost but only represent a fraction of acres burnt.
What we can do is be more proactive instead of reactive with our approach to forest management. We can accomplish this by increasing our forest workforce, low-intensity prescribed burns, canopy-opening logging techniques, fuel treatments, landowner education, and, most importantly, land-use planning.
This can already be done using programs in place like the Shared Stewardship Agreement, in which local, state and federal agencies use the Good Neighbor Authority to help manage our forests within the Wildland Urban Interface.
None of this requires bulldozing new roads into the backcountry. Our roadless areas are where our cleanest water starts, where elk find security, and where Montanans hunt, fish, and pass down what it means to love this state. The rescinding of the Roadless Rule is unneeded. What is needed is leadership that understands we need honest discussions about our forest conservation so that future generations get the same opportunity to enjoy what each and every one of us loves.
That’s why I’ve decided to step forward. My name is Jonathan Russell Jameson, and I’m running for Senate District 1 in Montana — the same corner of the state where my grandfather taught me what “God’s country” means. Running as a Democrat in a Republican-leaning district, I’m facing the impossible task of winning, and I have to meet that every day with “I’m possible!”
So let us do as James J. Hill did and lay down some tracks of understanding, and let’s help connect our divided views and political parties to find a balance of conservation and production. I’d rather us work together than see it burn.
Jonathan Russell Jameson lives in Libby.