Trump Administration Moves to Rescind Roadless Rule, Opening Millions of National Forest Acres to Logging and Roads

TL;DR

The U.S. Forest Service filed a proposed rule Tuesday to eliminate the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule nationwide, stripping protections from tens of millions of acres of national forest and clearing the way for new roads, logging, and other development for the first time in 25 years.

What we know: The Forest Service filed a proposed rule and a draft environmental impact statement to fully rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says the rule has blocked local managers from thinning overgrown stands and treating land threatened by insect outbreaks and disease, turning healthy forest into "tinderboxes." The rescission doesn't itself mandate logging or road construction — it shifts those decisions from a single nationwide standard to individual forest managers. The original rule, signed in the final days of the Clinton administration, currently limits development on nearly 59 million acres, about 30% of the National Forest System.

By the numbers: The proposed rescission affects more than 45 million acres of national forest, out of the nearly 59 million acres currently covered by the existing Roadless Rule nationwide. More than 95% of inventoried roadless areas sit in 10 Western states, including Utah, Montana, and Wyoming. About 40% of inventoried roadless areas — mostly in the West — carry high or very high wildfire hazard potential, per the Forest Service, but only 5% of those high-risk areas have received hazardous fuels reduction treatment since 2014. Colorado and Idaho are exempt from the proposal, since they already operate under their own state-specific roadless rules. The public comment deadline is Sept. 21.

The other side: Environmental groups reject the wildfire rationale outright. Research cited by the Wilderness Society found that wildfire density tends to be lowest in wilderness and roadless areas and highest near existing roads, since roads bring more human activity — and more potential ignition sources. Groups including Earthjustice also warn of harm to old-growth forests, wildlife habitat, and drinking-water supplies, while outdoor recreation and hunting organizations say the rollback threatens some of the country's best backcountry hunting and fishing grounds. Legal challenges are widely expected once a final rule is issued.

What it means for Utah: More than 4 million acres of roadless national forest in Utah would lose protection under the proposal, according to the Wilderness Society. That includes backcountry within the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache, Dixie, Fishlake, Manti-La Sal, and Ashley national forests — land that shelters mule deer, elk, black bear, and wild turkey, and that also serves as watershed for drinking water relied on by Utah communities. Popular recreation areas, including terrain near Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, hiking and mountain-biking trails, rock climbing routes, and backcountry ski zones, sit within these roadless areas as well.

Local environmental groups argue the rollback is especially risky given Utah's wildfire season this year, one of the state's most destructive on record. Citing new peer-reviewed research, the Wilderness Society said wildfires in Utah are about three times more likely to start near a road than in roadless forest, since roads bring more human activity and more potential ignition sources. The Sierra Club's Utah chapter also raised concerns about the Forest Service's capacity to maintain new roads, noting the agency already manages more than 370,000 miles of road nationwide alongside a $4.4 billion backlog in deferred maintenance — a gap it says would only widen if roadless areas are opened to construction amid anticipated funding cuts.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has voiced support for the rescission, putting him at odds with state conservation and outdoor recreation advocates, who argue the change threatens a $9.4 billion outdoor recreation industry in Utah built in part on the state's undeveloped backcountry.

What they're saying: Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins: "Our forests can't afford another decade of inaction... 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."

Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said more than 40% of high-risk roadless areas have gone largely untreated, adding that "active forest management is not an option. It's essential."

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said rescinding the rule "restores the flexibility to make thoughtful decisions based on the needs of each forest and each community."

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said the rule has "hindered Montana's ability to properly manage wildfire risk and road development" on nearly 60% of the state's Forest Service land.

Josh Hicks, the Wilderness Society's director of conservation campaigns: "Opening our backcountry forests to more roads and development, and therefore more ignitions, is also not a wildfire solution, and never will be."

Charlie Luke, the Wilderness Society's Utah state director: "It is irresponsible to open 4 million acres of forests to more chances of ignition and fire in the midst of one of Utah's most destructive wildfire seasons. Rolling back the Roadless Rule threatens Utahns’ clean air and drinking water, wildlife habitat, wildfire resilience, and our freedom to experience public lands that belong to all of us."

What's next: The Forest Service will take public comment on the proposal and draft environmental impact statement through midnight on Sept. 21. Details are available on the agency's Roadless Areas webpage. A final rule would follow after the comment period closes, and it's expected to draw immediate legal challenges from environmental groups.