Overview

• Rescinding the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule would roll back protections that currently restrict roadbuilding and commercial logging on about 58.5 million acres of national forest land.
• USDA and Forest Service leaders frame the change as removing barriers to wildfire suppression and active management, a rationale conservation groups dispute.
• Opposition is organizing across outdoor businesses, conservation NGOs, Indigenous leaders and some lawmakers, with Rep. Suzanne Bonamici proposing a bill to codify the Roadless Rule.
• The public comment window runs through Sept. 19, and more than 60,000 comments were filed in the first 10 days, with a draft environmental impact statement and a longer comment period to follow.
• Colorado and Idaho have state-specific roadless policies that would not be altered, while recreation advocates warn thousands of climbing routes and popular backcountry areas elsewhere could face new road and logging proposals.