This week on The Wild Line, we’re tracking more than a million comments against the Roadless Rule rescission, a court order halting border construction in Big Bend, new backing for A River Runs Through It Act, and a lawsuit over a Utah oil-hauling road. From national forests to desert canyons, these stories show how strongly the public is weighing in on federal land management, and we pause to remember two conservation leaders.

🎧 Listen to the full episode for context, analysis, and what to watch next.

Roadless Rule Rescission Draws More Than One Million Public Comments

Organizations coordinating opposition to the USDA’s proposed rescission of the Roadless Rule report submitting more than one million public comments, and estimate the agency has received more than 1.2 million. Len Montgomery, Great Outdoors Campaign Manager for Environment America and a lead organizer of the coalition, told us the response reflects a broad effort of more than 200 organizations, businesses, and independent content creators, and that the rule is as popular now as when it was first enacted 26 years ago. Figures are as reported by the coalition at the time of recording.

99 Percent of Comments Oppose Forest Service Travel Management Changes

Analysis by the Center for Western Priorities found that almost 200,000 comments on a proposed revision to Forest Service travel management regulations ran 99 percent against any changes. Under the proposal, the policy would shift from routes being open only where designated to Forest Service routes being open to motorized use by default. That change could increase confusion over where motorized use is prohibited to limit resource damage.

Federal Judge Blocks Border Construction in Big Bend National Park

On Friday last week, a federal judge in El Paso issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from building heavy border infrastructure, including barriers and patrol roads, in the Big Bend region, including Big Bend National Park. The administration had waived bedrock environmental laws that would otherwise require extensive review for such projects. Tiernan Sittenfeld, President and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, called the ruling a victory for Big Bend and for all national parks, and called for the damage already done to be studied and repaired.

Second Montana House Member Backs A River Runs Through It Act

On Tuesday, Republican Representative Troy Downing signed on as a co-sponsor of A River Runs Through It Act, meaning both of Montana’s U.S. House members now back the bill. It would permanently protect nearly 225,000 acres of public land through a mix of new wilderness, conservation management area, and backcountry area protections. Wild Montana Federal Legislative Director Zach Angstead described the legislation as the product of neighbors with differing visions working through the details with “care and effort.”

https://ariverrunsthroughit.org/

Nine Mile Canyon Coalition Sues Over Gate Canyon Oil Corridor

This week, the Nine Mile Canyon Coalition filed suit in federal court to stop a BLM plan to build a modern transportation corridor through Gate Canyon, intended to haul oil out of Utah’s Uinta Basin. The project would replace a winding, scenic byway with a major thoroughfare for trucks, a corridor Duchesne County has long wanted. The suit claims BLM rushed approval while ignoring damage to cultural sites and key Mexican spotted owl habitat. The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and the Center for Biological Diversity joined the filing.

Remembering Ken Sleight and Jim Lyon

Ken Sleight, the river guide and activist who inspired Seldom Seen Smith in Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang, died last week. He guided Glen Canyon trips in the 1950s before the dam drowned it beneath Lake Powell, and his commercial trips to Rainbow Bridge gave Friends of the Earth standing in their 1973 suit over the reservoir. This week also brought the passing of Jim Lyon, who retired from the National Wildlife Federation in 2021 after 25 years there and a four-decade career in the environmental movement. NWF President Collin O’Mara called him “a happy warrior of the conservation community.”

The Wild Idea podcast has been named a Finalist in the 5th Annual Signal Awards, in the Sustainability & Environment category.

Being a Finalist also makes us eligible for the Signal Listener’s Choice Award. Voting is open now through Thursday, October 15.

The Wild Line is sponsored by The Wilderness Society.

Learn more about opportunities to sponsor our shows.

Subscribe to our show on your favorite podcast player, and be sure to follow us on social media, too: we’re on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn. You can also support the show through our Buy Me a Coffee page. 

We also send out a weekly newsletter with updates on our show: sign up for that list right here.