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2w ago

USDA Comment Window Closes on Plan to Repeal Roadless Rule Protecting 58 Million Acres

A rare rebuke from four former Forest Service chiefs underscores mounting opposition ahead of the environmental review.

A helicopter ferries a log to the landing Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2006, on the Mike's Gulch timber sale in the South Kalmiopsis Roadless Area of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest near Selma, Ore.

Overview

  • The 21-day scoping comment period on rescinding the 2001 rule ends Friday, with nearly 160,000 submissions reported as of Thursday.
  • USDA proposes repeal to increase timber production, expand access for wildfire mitigation and give local managers more flexibility, citing firefighter access.
  • Former chiefs Michael Dombeck, Dale Bosworth, Tom Tidwell and Vicki Christiansen urge USDA to abandon a total repeal, arguing the existing rule already allows fuel reduction and other management.
  • Opponents warn rescission could open roadless tracts to logging, development and expanded motorized access across about 58 million acres, including roughly 4 million in Utah.
  • USDA targets a draft environmental impact statement by March 2026 and a final decision by late 2026, a path critics say risks renewed controversy and costly litigation.