Feds plan to rescind 2001 Roadless Rule protecting 45 million acres of national forest

The Trump Administration is moving ahead with its plan to eliminate a rule that protects nearly 45 million acres of national forests from logging and roadbuilding. 

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that the U.S. Forest Service filed a proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule rule in its entirety, which would nix prohibitions on road construction and development for 44.7 million acres of Forest Service land nationwide. About 2 million acres in Washington are protected under the rule. 

In a news release, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said removing the rule would “restore authority to local forest managers who know the land best, removing the barriers that have kept them from doing the work the land demands.” 

“It’s time to turn the page on the failed roadless rule and return our forests to health and productivity,” Rollins said. 

The announcement drew swift condemnation from a cavalcade of conservation groups, who say roadless protections have safeguarded some of the country’s most precious places.

“Washington has some of the most amazing forests in the world,” said Megan Birzell, the Washington state director for the Wilderness Society, in an emailed statement. “We must protect our clean water, wildlife and a backcountry that isn’t carved up by roads. The roadless rule ensures that future generations will have the freedom to experience these truly wild places as they are today.”

The Forest Service is filing the proposal and a draft environmental impact statement in the Federal Register, and the announcement said more information would be available Wednesday. Public comment will be taken on the proposal until Sept. 21. 

The roadless rule was crafted through a four-year process under President Bill Clinton. It blocks timber harvest and new road construction in inventoried roadless areas – undeveloped Forest Service lands that aren’t already protected as designated wilderness or another category. 

Timber industry representatives and Republican politicians have long seen the rule as a burdensome regulation and a barrier to necessary forest work. The Trump Administration announced its intent to dump the rule in June 2025. It comes as part of the administration’s push to get rid of regulations and boost timber production. 

In this week’s announcement, Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said rescinding the rule would allow the agency to perform “active forest management” to reduce wildfire risk.

“Acting now, thoughtfully and decisively, is the best way to restore the balance, reduce wildfire risk, and secure the long-term health of our forests and neighboring communities,” Schultz said.

Critics doubt removing the rule would help cut wildfire risk. A study published in the journal Fire Ecology in January found that wildfire ignitions were more likely to happen near roads, and that building roads into formerly roadless areas could result in an increase in fire starts. 

Supporters of the roadless rule also point out that it doesn’t prevent Forest Service officials from carrying out projects to limit wildfire risk. A 2020 study supported by the Forest Service found there were more fuel management projects in roadless areas on a per-square kilometer basis than in other parts of the National Forest System, though projects near roads were generally larger. 

Chris Wood, president and CEO of Trout Unlimited, helped develop the rule when he worked for the Forest Service chief 25 years ago. He said in a statement that rescinding it is “a classic example of a solution in search of a problem.”

“The Roadless Rule is and always has been about valuing our public lands and the open space, prime hunting and fishing, clean drinking water, and freedom they provide,” Wood said. “Instead of repealing it, the Forest Service should shelve this idea and work with stakeholders on better ways of balancing protecting roadless areas and managing our national forests to mitigate the risks of unnaturally intense wildfires.”

Most of the country’s roadless acreage is in the West. Washington’s 2.015 million acres are scattered across eight national forests. Roadless areas represent about 22% of the state’s national forest acreage. 

A number of the state’s most prominent sites are within inventoried roadless areas, such as the Liberty Bell in the North Cascades and the South Quinault Ridge on the Olympic Peninsula. In northeast Washington, Abercrombie and Hooknose mountains near Metaline Falls are within roadless areas, as is the Kettle Crest. 

Idaho’s forests aren’t affected by the rule. Federal officials approved an Idaho-specific rule in 2008 that covers about 9 million acres. Colorado also has a state specific rule.