Towns Democrats to hear about "Roadless Rule" proposed repeal

MountainTrue's Callie Moore will focus on the proposed cancellation of the "Roadless Rule" when Towns County Democrats meet Thursday, June 11, for their monthly meeting at the Towns County Senior Center, 954 North Main Street in Hiawassee.

The meeting will begin with the Democrats' biennial caucus at 5:30 p.m. to elect six members to the 12-member Towns County Democratic Committee. Anyone who is registered to vote and identifies as a Democrat is invited to participate as a candidate or voter in the caucus if they meet the residency, registration, and affirmation requirements of the state party bylaws.

Ms. Moore's program will begin at 6 p.m.

Callie Moore

A U.S. Forest Service proposal would remove protections from Inventoried Roadless Areas nationwide, opening these lands to road building, commercial logging, mining, and other development. In north Georgia, Inventoried Roadless Areas are located exclusively within the Chatttahoochee-Oconee National Forest, totaling up to approximately 64,800 acres of ecologically sensitive ecosystems, iconic hiking routes, and native trout habitats. Tray Mountain Roadless Area is the largest contiguous tract that would be affected, spanning roughly 36,300 acres in Towns, Rabun, Habersham, and White counties.

In western North Carolina, affected areas include South Mills River, the Black Mountains, and Tusquitee Bald. That includes more than 150,000 acres in Pisgah and Nantahala national forests alone. 

The Forest Service adopted the Roadless Area Conservation Rule in 2001 to protect nearly 59 million acres nationwide of national forest lands from road building, logging, and industrial development. The rule safeguards clean drinking water, wildlife habitat, and back-country recreation opportunities.

In June 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans to cancel the Rule. If finalized, the rollback would affect nearly one-third of all national forest lands in the United States. This potential repeal threatens up to 88% of Georgia's roadless areas, which could open them up to new road construction, commercial logging, mining, and other developments.

Ms. Moore served as director of the Hiwassee River Watershed Coalition for 17 years until the organization merged in 2019 with MountainTrue, where she is southwestern regional director.  She has a master's degree in water resources from Indiana University and is a graduate of West Carolina University's Environmental Health Program.

Ms. Moore previously worked with the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources as a river basin planner for the Division of Water Quality, during which time she worked extensively in several regional river basins, including Hiwassee, Little Tennessee, and Savannah. Other prior work experience includes water quality monitoring, sediment/erosion control compliance inspections, and environmental education for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the Tennessee Valley Authority.