LANSING, Mich. (WOWO). More than 16,000 acres of Michigan national forest could lose federal protections against permanent roads and logging under a proposed change by the U.S. Forest Service.

The agency is proposing to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects nearly 45 million acres of National Forest System land nationwide from road construction and certain types of development, with some exceptions.

The proposal has sparked a fight in Michigan, where conservation groups are urging residents to submit comments before the Oct. 6 deadline.

Emma Shedd, a forest ecologist with the Michigan chapter of the Sierra Club, said the protected areas are unusual because they preserve large blocks of habitat without roads cutting through them.

“These areas are incredibly unique,” Shedd said. “It’s one of the only kinds of protections that we have like this at the federal level that prevents habitat fragmentation.”

The roadless lands are spread across three Michigan national forests.

The Hiawatha National Forest has 7,846 protected acres divided among the Delirium, Fibre, Government Island and Round Island roadless areas.

The Huron-Manistee National Forest has another 3,915 acres in the Bear Swamp roadless area.

The Ottawa National Forest has 4,360 acres in the Norwich Plains roadless area.

Combined, the roughly 16,000 acres represent only about 0.5% of Forest Service land in Michigan.

Bill Cook, editor of Michigan Forests magazine, said the relatively small amount of land means the rule change might not have a major effect on forest management.

“It’s an infinitesimally small part of Michigan’s forests,” Cook said. “Chances are forest managers wouldn’t find a lot of reason to manage those areas anyways.”

Conservation groups argue the size of the areas doesn’t diminish their importance.

The roadless forests provide habitat for species including gray wolves, northern long-eared bats and showy lady’s slippers, a type of orchid. Black bears, moose, American martens and Canada lynx also live in Michigan’s roadless areas.

Shedd said roads can break up otherwise intact habitat and make it harder for wildlife to use larger stretches of forest.

“The fragmented landscapes that happen when we have all these roads kind of crisscrossing through really degrades the habitat for those animal species, and is part of what makes having these larger intact areas so important,” she said.

The proposed federal change has supporters as well as opponents.

The Blue Ribbon Coalition, which advocates for recreation access on public lands, supports rescinding the Roadless Rule. The group argues that new roads would be Forest Service roads rather than a wholesale giveaway of public land and says the change could create additional opportunities for all-terrain vehicle and snowmobile riders.

But Rich Rottier, vice president of the Michigan Snowmobile & ORV Association, said losing the protections would not make a major difference for off-road recreation in Michigan.

“There’s plenty to ride in Michigan without it. It’s just it would be a new area to go ride, is all,” Rottier said. “If they opened it, it’d be great. If they don’t, as far as the ORV is concerned, it’s not that big of a deal.”

Timber harvesting is another issue behind the proposed change.

Justin Knepper, executive director of the Michigan Association of Timbermen, said the state’s forest industry is already struggling to find markets for available wood.

He pointed to declining demand for paper and competition from products such as vinyl flooring that can replace traditional hardwood flooring.

“Our industry is kind of on the rocks,” Knepper said. “So from my perspective, it doesn’t matter how many new acres come online if we don’t have a market to sell the wood.”

Wildfire management is one of the biggest areas of disagreement over the Roadless Rule.

Supporters of rescinding the rule argue that allowing roads into more forest areas could make it easier for firefighters to reach wildfires.

Opponents argue that wildfires can be fought from the air and that the existing rule already allows certain forest-management activities, including prescribed burns and some tree removal.

They also point to research indicating that wildfires are more likely to start near roads.

The Forest Service says decisions about wildfire management and timber harvesting should not be governed by a one-size-fits-all national rule. The agency argues those decisions are better handled by local Forest Service officials.

Michigan’s roadless areas also have recreational and scenic value.

John Rebers, a Sierra Club Michigan volunteer who has spent time in the Norwich Plains roadless area in the western Upper Peninsula, hiked portions of the North Country Trail there and described seeing older forest, steep rocky terrain and wildflowers.

Being in a roadless area, he said, provides a different kind of experience.

“It just allows more quiet and solitude,” Rebers said.

A coalition of Midwest conservation groups is asking the Forest Service to extend the current 45-day public comment period to 120 days.

For now, the federal deadline remains Oct. 6.

The debate comes as Michigan and other states consider how much of their public forest land should remain free of permanent roads and what role timber harvesting, recreation, wildfire management and wildlife habitat should play in those areas.