Ask the expert: Why roadless forest protections matter

More than 4.2 million miles of public roads crisscross the lower 48 states – enough to reach the Moon and back almost nine times. This vast network of roads spiderwebs its way across the contiguous U.S., leaving only about 5% as a roadless area or wilderness. These road-free areas are now under threat from the Trump administration’s proposed rollback of the 2001 Roadless Rule.