Last June, the U.S. the Secretary of Agriculture announced that the Trump administration intends to repeal something called the “Roadless Rule”—a policy implemented in 2001, which protected some of the Forest Service’s wildest lands from logging, mining, and road-building.

Author Ben Goldfarb examined the impacts of road and roadless areas in his 2023 book, Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet. We talk with Ben about why our Forest Service lands already have so many roads, and what building more would actually mean for wildlife and for people.

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Credits: Threshold Conversations is produced by Sam Moore. Our music is by Todd Sickafoose. Amy Martin is our host and executive producer.

Resources and Links:

Ben’s book, “Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet” at W.W. Norton

To read more of Ben Goldfarb’s ecological writing, go to his website, bengoldfarb.com

A map of Forest Service Roadless Areas in the United States

The Forest Service website about Roadless Areas and the new rule

40 Years a Forester by Elers Koch

Threshold Conversations | The Roadless Rule with Ben Goldfarb