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When most people think of national forests, they imagine vast Western landscapes such as Alaska, the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific Northwest. However, millions of acres of federal forests also dot the eastern half of the country. Vast areas of these vibrant ecosystems have long been roadless and protected by a policy aptly called the “roadless rule.”
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Adopted in 2001 at the end of the Clinton administration, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, as it is officially known, grew out of a recognition within the U.S. Forest Service that it had built more roads than it could sustain. Many have collapsed into rivers, fragmenting habitat and degrading drinking water, causing even government scientists to worry. The rule prohibited road construction and logging in approximately 60 million acres of undeveloped national forest in 39 states. In the eastern United States, these regions provide rare areas of ecological and natural relief in densely developed areas.
The future of these forests and the communities that depend on them is in question as the Trump administration seeks to repeal this policy and open these lands to logging and mining.
The Department of Agriculture, which falls under the Forest Service, argues that the roadless rule limits its ability to reduce wildfire risk, maintain access for firefighters and promote forest health. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins criticized the policy as an “unreasonable obstruction” and “overly restrictive.” He said its repeal would give the Forest Service more flexibility to protect forests and support rural economies.
But conservationists say the government’s position is not supported by science and ignores the importance of relatively intact forests. In addition to storing carbon to combat climate change, forests play a major role in protecting wildlife, supporting recreation, and protecting drinking water supplies for millions of people. “A region without roads is a finite resource,” said Garrett Rose of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “These are the last best areas of national forest land.”
Some former Forest Service leaders also oppose repeal. The four former chiefs drew on 150 years of collective experience to appeal to the regime to uphold the rules. “Removing protection from these precious lands, which belong to all of us, rich and poor, would be an irreversible tragedy,” said Vicki Christiansen, who led the agency from 2018 to 2021.
This policy protects approximately one-third of national forest land. Ninety-five percent of that is in 10 western states, where vast contiguous forests remain the norm. But east of the Mississippi River, the policy protects smaller, more vulnerable parcels. For example, just 4,000 acres of the Shawnee National Forest in Illinois are roadless. Across the Southeast, the total is about 416,000.
The Trump administration launched its repeal effort last fall with an unusually short public comment period of 21 days, which is much shorter than the normal period (up to 90 days). Still, the proposal received more than 220,000 responses, with nearly all opposing it, according to an analysis by advocacy group Roadless Defense. The most frequently cited concerns were related to wildlife, tourism, and water quality.
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Still, the administration plans to continue promoting the initiative. The reduction is part of a broader effort to expand logging and rebuild the nation’s second-largest land management agency. Last month, the Trump administration closed 57 of the 77 research stations operated by the Forest Service across the country, many of which studied the effects of climate change, invasive species and wildfires on forests. The reforms included plans to move the agency’s headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, Utah, and close nine regional offices.
Since returning to office last year, President Donald Trump has pushed federal agencies to ramp up timber production, including making it easier to take advantage of loopholes in the law to cut down trees. As the Department of Agriculture aims to overturn the roadless rule this year, the discussion is shifting from Washington to forests and to communities living along some of the East’s last protected forests.
— Juan Pablo Ramirez-Franco & Katie Myers
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