Roadless Areas
America’s National Forest roadless areas are a biological oasis for wildlife and plant communities and an important source of clean, cold water. The forests and other ecosystems within them perform vital services needed not only by fish and wildlife, but by all Americans as they cleanse the air we breathe and purify the water we drink.
With over half the nation’s roadless areas at mid to upper elevations (5,000 to 8,000 feet), they encompass the headwaters of hundreds of streams that feed municipal drinking water supplies. These concentrations of mature and old growth forests and undeveloped landscapes are also important to fish migration and rearing, and they provide a buffer against invasive species.
