US Forest Service map of roadless areas south of Lake Tahoe Image via Wikipedia
Roadlessland.org a website about roadless areas in our national forests
Roadlessland.org as you might guess is about natural areas without roads. This website covers about 60 million acres of National Forest land that are designated as inventoried Roadless Areas. This means the U.S. Forest Service has identified and reviewed these areas as suitable for roadless area conservation as wilderness or other non-standard protections. These lands are often near other wilderness areas, parks and other protected areas.
The website has maps (which are downloadable) and a database of information on the roadless areas. It includes sections where you can upload and view photos as well as share comments, descriptions of locations, and trail reviews.
Research has shown that roads have negative impacts on ecosystems, plant and animal populations, freshwater aquatic systems and surface hydrology. The impact is not only in the immediate area of the road but the surrounding areas as much as 100 yards away. The website has information about the Roadless Rule of 2001 which was a major but little known conservation action by the federal government. Rule 2001 controls the amount of road-building activities undertaken by the forest service. Did you know the forest service has more miles of roads than the US Interstate Highway System?
Thanks to John Wall of John Wall’s Natural California for alerting me to this informative website.
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