Roadless Rule Proposed Changes, Some Responses
Excerpts below are a sampling of what has been written from groups including Healthy Forests, The Mountaineers, Environment America, High County News, Outdoor Life, and Earth Justice. Much more information and commentary is available.
A Statement in Favor of the Proposed Change
Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities – Supporting active, multiple-use management of federal forest lands
healthyforests
Ending a Policy of Neglect: Why Rescinding the Roadless Rule Matters
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule is one step towards reversing decades of forest neglect that has left millions of acres vulnerable to severe wildfire, insect infestations, and disease.
Statements Opposed to the Proposed Change
The Mountaineers, Oct 9,2025
Roadless Rule Advocacy Update
Roadless Rule Advocacy Update
The last few months were an initial sprint on a longer journey to defend the Roadless Rule from a full rescission by the administration. We report back on our collective advocacy so far, what’s next in the process, and how you can help build support for backcountry forest protections in Congress.
The Mountaineers
The last few months were an initial sprint on a longer journey to defend the Roadless Rule from a full rescission by the administration. We report back on our collective advocacy so far, what’s next in the process, and how you can help build support for backcountry forest protections in Congress.
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The Roadless Rule isn’t perfect, but it strikes a balance between conservation, recreation, and fire risk mitigation. Rather than jumping directly to a sweeping repeal, we believe the Forest Service should do a thorough analysis of targeted changes to hone the balance among those priorities. We highlighted the importance of analyzing a third alternative that includes adjustments that fine tune the Rule’s implementation in fire-prone communities.
The effort to rescind the Roadless Rule is part of a larger push to weaken protections for public lands and increase resource extraction. We expect to see a draft environmental impact statement - the next step in the rulemaking process - at some point this winter. Due to efforts by the administration to undermine the National Environmental Policy Act, it’s not clear when our next public comment opportunity will be.
Environment America, June 2025
What is the roadless rule and why should you care about it?
What is the Roadless Rule? Why does it matter? And what does its rescission mean for some of our last remaining wild forests?
In June 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans to rescind the Roadless Rule , opening the door to road-building and industrial development across 45 million acres of previously protected forest. If the rollback succeeds, much of what makes these places special could be lost forever.
https://environmentamerica.org/articles/what-is-the-roadless-rule-and-why-should-you-care-about-it/
High Country News, Sept 19, 2025
How to comment on the planned roadless rule rollback - High Country News
The deadline to weigh in on the change is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Sept. 19.
Shi En Kim
Experts agree that roadless areas protect wildlife habitat, biodiversity and migration corridors, help keep invasive species at bay, prevent pollution and soil erosion into streams and boost climate resilience. In short, the roadless rule is an ecological boon for Western U.S. landscapes, where most of the affected areas are located, as well as for any Westerners who enjoy outdoor recreation or live off the land.
Research, however, contradicts the government’s claim that building more roads will help fight wildfires. A 2020 Forest Service study concluded, after nearly 20 years of monitoring data, that more roads do not lead to better forest health through increased fire-management activity.
Outdoor Life, Aug 29, 2025
You Have Just 3 Weeks to Object to the Roadless Rule Rollback, Which Will Affect 45 Million Wild Acres Across the U.S.
Huge swaths of National Forest land could be opened to widespread road development under the latest Trump administration proposal
The U.S. Forest Service today posted notice of its intention to roll back significant protections on some 45 million acres of mid-elevation forestland, and will accept public comments through Sept. 19 to gauge Americans’ appetite for the change.
Specifically, the Trump administration plans to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, proposed by the Clinton administration and enacted under the George Bush administration, that generally prohibits new road construction on millions of acres of U.S. Forest Service land. The rule was adopted after hundreds of public meetings and 1.6 million public comments, 95 percent of which supported the roadless protections as a tool to conserve wildlife habitat, improve watershed health, and importantly, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires on America’s public timberlands.
You Have Just 3 Weeks to Object to the Roadless Rule Rollback, Which Will Affect 45 Million Wild Acres Across the U.S.
The Trump administration just opened a three-week comment period for revoking the Roadless Rule, which keeps wilderness intact.
Andrew McKean
Earth Justice, Sept 23, 2025
Proposal to Scrap Roadless Rule Draws Public Outcry
Washington, D.C. —
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ plan to repeal the Roadless Rule — which would open the door to widespread destruction of cherished national forestlands — is proving to be extremely unpopular. With the agency reporting on Monday that it had received 625,737 comments at the close of a public comment period, an independent tally collected by coordinating organizations showed that at least 500,000 of the public comments and petition sign-ons were sent by Americans opposed to the Roadless Rule rollback. The high volume collected in just 21 days, which according to news reports is among the current proposals posted to Regulations.gov that have received the most comments, indicates broad public outrage unleashed by the Trump administration’s planned rollback.
In addition to the hundreds of thousands of public comments opposing the elimination of the Roadless Rule, 329 organizations sent a letter to Sec. Rollins opposing the rollback, and 55 members of Congress called for more time for the public to weigh in on the plan. Since June, when the rollback was first announced, a diverse array of voices have jumped to the defense of the Roadless Rule including former U.S. Forest Service chiefs, Attorneys General from multiple states, Tribal elders and leaders, scientists, business owners, wildland firefighters, local elected officials, hunters and anglers, outdoors enthusiasts and many others.
The following is a joint statement from The Wilderness Society, Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Alaska Wilderness League:
“The backcountry wild areas protected by the Roadless Rule are universally enjoyed and integral to what makes this nation special. As Americans, we have the right to explore these wild places — and we will not stand for auctioning them off to the highest bidder. Allowing the destruction of these lands would increase wildfire risk, pollute clean drinking water, deprive people of healthy outdoor recreation opportunities, jeopardize small businesses, and threaten the survival of thousands of species. The Roadless Rule must remain intact. These lands must remain protected for the American public — today, and for future generations.”
https://earthjustice.org/press/2025/proposal-to-scrap-roadless-rule-draws-public-outcry
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