Trump administration moves to repeal 2001 roadless rule on national forest lands

In a move announced Tuesday, the Trump administration is advancing a proposal to rescind the roadless rule adopted in 2001 that barred logging, road building and other development on roughly 59 million acres of national forest. The U.S. Forest Service will file the proposal and seek public input via a draft environmental impact statement published in the Federal Register, with comments due by Sept. 21. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the rule has become a blanket restriction that prevents forest managers from addressing overgrown stands, insect outbreaks and disease that increase wildfire risk.

Scientists note that worsening fires stem from climate change, reduced logging and decades of fire suppression. Environmental advocates, including WildEarth Guardians, the Alaska Wilderness League and the Sierra Club, contend the repeal would threaten old-growth ecosystems, wildlife habitats and water supplies, especially in areas like Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. Officials stress that removing the designation does not obligate timber harvest or road construction, but critics argue it opens the door to increased development. The proposal follows a prior announcement at a Western governors meeting in New Mexico last summer.