A potential change in federal policy could affect how backcountry national forests and grasslands are managed in the future. It’s an issue that seems to have merit on both sides – conservationists on one and the federal government on the other.

In the middle are Americans who need to voice their opinion, and with a certain level of expediency, since the opportunity to speak will end in less than two weeks.

The plan comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which seeks to repeal a rule that limits roadways on some 45 million acres of national backcountry lands. The Clinton administration-era rule was put in place to reduce negative impacts that roads have on otherwise untouched lands.

Prohibiting roadways in backcountry areas seems prudent, but debate has arisen.

“For nearly 25 yea

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