Trump Administration Moves to Rescind 2001 Roadless Rule on Millions of Acres of National Forests

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has submitted a formal proposal to repeal the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which currently bans logging and road construction across nearly 45 million acres (18 million hectares) of national forest land. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the proposal on Tuesday, arguing that the move will help mitigate wildfire risks by shifting authority back to local forest managers who are most familiar with the terrain.

“For too long, outdated restrictions have kept tens of millions of forested acres off-limits to the very treatments that improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk to our communities,” Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in a statement. “It’s time to turn the page on the failed roadless rule and return our forests to health and productivity.”

Proponents of the change, including the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers, maintain that constructing roads in these protected zones will grant firefighters better access when battling blazes. Republican Governor Greg Gianforte of Montana echoed this sentiment, stating that federal restrictions have long hampered local management.

Despite the term “roadless,” the National Forest Service notes that thousands of miles of existing federally, state, and county-owned roads already cross these lands. Approximately half of the area sits within 1 mile (1.6km) of a road, and 31 percent is within 0.5 miles (800 metres) of one.

While the USDA emphasized that the proposal does not mandate timber cutting or road building, environmental organizations fiercely opposed the decision. Critics warn that lifting the conservation rule will encourage developments that heighten wildfire risks. Research from The Wilderness Society indicates that fires are four times more likely to ignite near roads than in roadless forests.

“Roadless forests are where wildlife live,” said Taylor McKinnon, southwest director of the Center for Biological Diversity. “They’re home to jaguars, Mexican spotted owls, and ocelot, some of the most iconic animals on the continent. Plowing roads into their habitat will bring human-caused wildfires and disturbances that they don’t need and can’t afford.”

The debate comes as the United States faces one of its most severe wildfire seasons in a decade, with the National Interagency Fire Center reporting 7.3 million acres (3 million hectares) burned across roughly 49,000 fires through August 17. Over 95 percent of these impacts are concentrated in 10 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

This initiative follows other recent environmental rollbacks by the Trump administration concerning the Endangered Species Act. The public has until September 21 to submit comments on the proposed repeal of the Roadless Rule.