Forest Service Access Fight Comes Back to Multiple Use and Working Public Land

The Forest Service fight has never been just about trees. It has always been about whether public land stays usable for the people who hunt it, fish it, manage it, fight fire on it and depend on it.

The agency manages 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands, about 193.1 million acres across the country. That ground carries elk, deer, turkeys, trout streams, timber, grazing, trailheads, camps, fire risk, watersheds and a pile of political pressure from every direction.

The roots go back to Gifford Pinchot’s wise-use idea: public resources should be managed for the greatest good over the long haul, not locked away for one interest group or stripped bare for another. Congress later put multiple use into law, meaning the Forest Service is supposed to balance outdoor recreation, range, timber, watershed, wildlife and fish.

That balance matters for hunters and anglers because access is habitat with a gate on it. A roadless fight, a timber fight, a fire fight or a travel-management fight can all turn into a hunting and fishing access fight real quick. Healthy forests need active management. Wildlife needs habitat. Regular people need practical ways to reach the ground their tax dollars and license dollars help support.

Public land should not be treated like a museum piece, and it should not be treated like a disposable woodpile either. Keep it productive, keep it healthy, keep it accessible, and quit pretending conservation and use are enemies. They are supposed to work together.