The Trump administration is moving forward with plans to rescind a 25-year-old rule that prohibits logging, road construction, and other development on millions of acres of national forest land. The U.S. Forest Service announced Tuesday it is filing a proposal to scrap the so-called roadless rule, adopted in the final days of the Clinton presidency in 2001.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins stated that the rule is a "one-size-fits-all restriction" that has hindered land managers and prevented efforts to reduce wildfire risks. "Our forests can’t afford another decade of inaction. Across the country, we’ve watched preventable conditions — overgrown stands, insect outbreaks and disease — turn healthy landscapes into tinderboxes," Rollins said in a statement.
Scientists note that worsening wildfires are influenced by climate change, which warms and dries forests, along with reduced logging and decades of fire suppression that have allowed fuel to accumulate.
The original roadless rule was established to protect undeveloped national forest land from commercial logging and mineral leasing, with the aim of preserving ecosystems and water supplies. Rollins described the rule as a failure and said the new proposal would restore authority to local forest managers, removing barriers to improving forest health on millions of acres.
The roadless rule currently affects approximately 59 million acres, or 30% of national forest lands nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Forest Service will accept public comments on the proposal and a draft environmental impact statement filed in the Federal Register. Officials noted that rescinding the rule does not mandate timber cutting or road construction.
Environmental groups have expressed alarm over the potential impact of lifting protections. "Americans across the political spectrum have made it crystal clear that they don’t want political appointees removing protections from public lands," said Chris Krupp, an attorney with WildEarth Guardians. "It would be a gross misreading of public sentiment to take the roadless rule away from Americans and our wildlife, and politicians do so at their jeopardy."
Groups like the Alaska Wilderness League are concerned about the implications for areas such as the Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the U.S. State political leaders in Alaska have previously supported an exemption to the roadless rule, arguing it impedes economic opportunities. During the later part of the Trump administration's first term, restrictions on logging and road-building in the Tongass were lifted, a decision later reversed by the Biden administration.
Emma Powell, the Alaska Wilderness League's government affairs manager, called the Tongass a "global treasure" that supports salmon runs, wildlife, and local economies through fisheries, tourism, and recreation, generating billions in economic activity annually.
Alex Craven, the Sierra Club's forest campaign manager, challenged the administration's assertion that rescinding the rule would help reduce wildfire threats. Craven suggested that increased road construction could lead to more fires and argued that the rule never prevented the Forest Service from undertaking targeted fuel reduction work. The Sierra Club and other groups have vowed to oppose the proposal.
The deadline for public comment is September 21.