Overview

• The Forest Service will publish a Notice of Intent on Friday, opening public comments through Sept. 19 and beginning the formal repeal process.
• The proposed rescission targets nearly 45 million acres of inventoried roadless national forest lands, while Colorado and Idaho’s state-specific rules would remain in place.
• USDA leaders, including President Trump’s agriculture secretary and the Forest Service chief, argue that easing limits on roadbuilding and timber work would improve wildfire suppression, active management, and rural economies.
• Environmental groups, tribes, and fisheries and recreation advocates warn of habitat loss and water-quality harm, highlight the national forest road system’s multibillion-dollar maintenance backlog, and signal immediate legal challenges led by Earthjustice.
• Potential impacts highlighted in coverage include Alaska’s Tongass and Chugach forests, roughly 2 million acres in Oregon, about 4 million acres across Utah’s forests, and smaller protected tracts such as parts of Sam Houston National Forest in Texas.