Overview
- The U.S. Forest Service filed a proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement on Tuesday to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule and opened a public comment period that runs through Sept. 21.
- The rule now protects roughly 59 million acres of national forest by limiting road construction, timber harvests and large-scale development, and the agency says rescinding it would let local managers carry out more hazardous-fuels treatments.
- Officials emphasize the filing does not itself authorize road building or logging and that any projects would still require separate planning and approvals at the forest level.
- Conservation groups and many researchers say roads increase human-caused ignitions, fragment habitat and threaten watersheds, and several advocacy organizations have already signaled they will sue if the repeal is finalized.
- The proposal primarily affects Western states and Alaska, follows prior contentious changes to Tongass protections, and could change access, local economies and species habitat if future local plans approve new roads or timber projects.