About this Campaign

The benefits that undisturbed forests provide the world are immeasurable. Left undeveloped, our forests clean our air and filter water for millions. They provide haven for wildlife, a defense against global warming and opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors.

The Wilderness Society is fighting to keep America's forests pristine and protected from the industrial development that comes with road construction.

We’ve successfully defended the nation’s roadless forests against assaults the timber and mining industries repeatedly launched with the aid of Bush administration.

Currently, we’re fighting against attempts to weaken protection for our forests in Colorado and Idaho. Even with the Bush administration out of office, we are still fending off his administration's efforts to lessen protection by making changes to the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, a Clinton-era rule that has successfully protected pristine forests from logging and industry.

A success story for roadless forests

Working with a wide range of coalition partners, we’ve kept nearly 58.5 million acres of forest intact.

Despite repeated attempts to weaken the rule, opponents have managed to build only seven miles of roads in the past eight years.

We’ve achieved this success by teaming with grassroots organizations, fighting for smart federal and state policies, and defending forests in court.

Since the roadless rule was adopted in 2001, the highly popular policy has kept nearly all eligible lands free from the destructive effects of energy development, mining, logging and road building. The American public showed enormous support for the rule by generating more than 4 million comments to the Forest Service in favor of protecting forests.