US EditionTrump administration presses rollback of 'Roadless Rule' on wild lands
The USDA aims to improve wildfire management and rural economies by changing regulations on nearly 45 million acres of national forest lands, inviting public feedback.
- Today the USDA opened a formal rulemaking to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, starting a 21-day public comment period across 37 states.
- The administration said rescinding the rule combats wildfires and boosts rural economies, with Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins arguing it hindered forest management and timber production, as previewed in the June announcement.
- Conservation groups warned roadless areas protect about 70% of native trout and salmon, while Alaska Wilderness League and Southeast Alaska conservation groups cited risks to 15 million acres and nearly 190,000 Tongass acres.
- With a short comment window, the public has until September 19, 2025 to submit comments; environmental researchers and critics say roads increase wildfire risk, with fires four times likelier near roads, challenging the administration's rationale.
- Nationwide, Rollins said the repeal would cover 45 million acres, about 75% of the national inventory of roadless areas, while advocates call it the largest rollback of protections, continuing a policy seesaw involving previous Trump administration actions on the Tongass and the Biden administration's 2023 reinstatement.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Ending Roadless Rule Threatens Wyoming’s Hunting and Fishing, Outdoors Groups Say
The 2001 Roadless Rule applies to remote areas all over Wyoming, and the Trump administration might rescind it. Outdoors groups claim that could ruin prime hunting and fishing spots, while others say the rule has stunted proper management of forests.
Trump administration advances plan to reverse federal rule that limits logging in national forests
Sun shines through the canopy in the Tongass National Forest. (Photo by Brian Logan/U.S. Forest Service) The U.S. Department of Agriculture, parent agency of the U.S. Forest Service, announced Wednesday that it is moving ahead with plans to rescind a rule that has restricted logging and construction on millions of acres of federal lands in the American West for more than two decades. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in a written…
'This is an attack': Environmentalists warn of catastrophe as Trump tries to gut key rule
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday moved to rescind a conservation policy dating back nearly 25 years that has protected more than 45 million acres of pristine public lands, as the Trump administration announced a public comment period of just three weeks regarding the rollback of the "...
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