Trump administration moves to rescind roadless rule protecting 45 million acres of national forests

Aug 18, 2026

On August 18, 2026, the Trump administration formally proposed to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, potentially opening 44.7 million acres of national forestland to road construction, logging, and development. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins argued the move restores local authority and reduces wildfire risks. However, environmentalists strongly oppose the plan, citing research that roads increase wildfire ignitions and warning of severe damage to critical wildlife habitats and municipal water supplies.

Roadless rule rescission proposal

▪The U.S. Forest Service's proposal to rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule would shift land management authority from the federal level to local national forest managers.
▪The U.S. Department of Agriculture's notice of intent to repeal the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, announced in August 2025, received over 600,000 public comments, with an analysis showing 99% opposition.
▪The Trump administration formally proposed to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule on August 18, 2026, initiating a 30-day public comment period ending on September 21, 2026.

Wildfire risk reduction justification

▪Environmentalists and ecologists argue that constructing roads increases wildfire risks, citing research showing that wildfires are more likely to ignite near roads due to human activity and the spread of invasive grasses.
▪U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz stated that over 40% of inventoried roadless areas have high wildfire hazard potential, but only 5% have received hazardous fuels reduction treatments since 2014.
▪U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins stated that repealing the Roadless Area Conservation Rule would remove barriers to forest treatments, improve forest health, and reduce wildfire risks.
▪A study published in the journal Fire Ecology found that between 1992 and 2024, wildfire ignition density on national forest lands was lowest in designated wilderness and roadless areas, and highest within 50 meters of roads.

Wildlife habitat protection concerns

▪Roadless areas encompass nearly 60 million acres of national forest land, representing about 30% of the system, and provide critical habitat for over half of the nation's imperiled wildlife species.
▪Environmental groups oppose the rescission, warning that building roads for commercial logging and industrial development will permanently destroy pristine wilderness, fragment wildlife habitats, and degrade municipal drinking water supplies.

Historical roadless rule context

▪The Trump administration previously lifted logging and road-building restrictions in Alaska's Tongass National Forest during Trump's first term, a decision that the Biden administration subsequently reversed in 2023.
▪The Roadless Area Conservation Rule was established in 2001 under President Bill Clinton's administration to protect undeveloped national forest lands from commercial logging, road construction, and mineral leasing.

Regional impact scope

▪Idaho and Colorado are insulated from the federal Roadless Area Conservation Rule rescission because both states have their own state-specific regulations that supersede the federal rule.
▪The proposed rescission of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule would affect the management of 44.7 million acres of national forest land, primarily across ten Western states.
▪The proposed rescission would eliminate protections for 4.4 million acres of roadless areas in California across 21 national forests, including the Angeles, Tahoe, Inyo, Shasta-Trinity, and Los Padres national forests.

Logging industry economic development

▪Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Damien Schiff argued that federal roadless protections have depressed productive economic activities, such as mining and timber production, and hindered communities near Alaska's Tongass National Forest from connecting to electric grids.
▪The proposal to rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule aligns with directives from President Donald Trump to increase domestic logging and timber production in national forests by 25%.