The Wild Is on the Line: Why the Roadless Rule Repeal Matters Now More Than Ever

A sweeping repeal threatens clean water, wildlife habitat, and one of the most successful forest protections in U.S. history—just as wildlands need safeguarding most.

Photo by Greg Johnson on Unsplash

The Roadless Rule was never just about trees. It was about what America chose to protect when it still had the choice: clean water, quiet wilderness, old-growth forests, and the living memory of a landscape not yet carved into roads, stumps, and scars.

In June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture—under Secretary Brooke Rollins—announced it would attempt to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, gutting protections for nearly 60 million acres of national forest lands. That means bulldozers, loggers, and drill rigs could be permitted to push into some of the last remaining unfragmented forest ecosystems in the country. Commercial livestock will undoubtedly be permitted and expanded. The timing isn’t accidental. With wildfire season looming and a Congress dominated by extractive interests, the administration is moving fast to turn roadless areas into resource zones.

What the Roadless Rule Did

Enacted under President Clinton in the final days of his administration, the Roadless Rule banned most logging, mining, and road construction in undeveloped areas of national forests—an act of preemptive preservation. These areas included watersheds, wildlife corridors, sacred tribal grounds, and forestlands already under pressure from climate change and fragmentation. The rule protected nearly 58 million acres—around a third of our national forest system—that had remained intact because of this long-standing commitment to restraint.

Roadless areas aren't just ecological sanctuaries. They also provide free and low-cost outdoor recreation access for millions of Americans. These protected backcountry forests include:

• 5,567 rock climbing routes

• 556 river miles for paddling

• 9,298 miles of hiking trails

• 7,947 miles of mountain biking trails

• 17,936 total miles of non-motorized trails

• 691 miles of backcountry ski trails

These areas overlap with iconic long-distance routes like the Pacific Crest, Appalachian, and Continental Divide Trails, forming the backbone of America’s outdoor heritage.

Why It’s Being Repealed—And Who Benefits

The repeal comes wrapped in the language of "forest health" and wildfire prevention. Don’t be fooled. New research from The Wilderness Society shows wildfires are four times more likely to start in areas with roads than in roadless ones. Another study found over 90% of wildfires occur within half a mile of a road. So who really benefits? The timber lobby. Oil and gas interests. And public lands ranchers seeking access to new grazing territory. This isn’t about empowering local managers—it’s about greenlighting industrial access into some of the most ecologically intact places left in the United States.

Logging often targets the biggest, oldest trees—our most effective carbon sinks and a vital part of any strategy to combat climate change. And the roads built to reach them come at a cost: erosion and sedimentation that ruins fish habitat, destruction of salmon runs, polluted watersheds, and fire-prone fuel breaks.

What We Lose

Photo by Nicholas Koenig on Unsplash

If the Roadless Rule is repealed, we stand to lose the ecological integrity of watersheds that supply drinking water to over 60 million people in 3,400 communities across 33 states. These forests are the headwaters of our nation’s great rivers and provide a major portion of municipal water supplies to cities like Los Angeles, Portland, Denver, and Atlanta.

We lose vital wildlife corridors and large blocks of undisturbed critical habitat for imperiled species like California condors, grizzly bears, wolves, and native salmon. In Alaska, roadless areas are the lifeblood of Indigenous food security and subsistence culture.

We lose our ability to preserve game habitat and migration corridors for species like elk and mule deer. Roads fragment these areas, severing ancient paths and disrupting ecological balance.

We also lose economically. The Forest Service already maintains a 380,000-mile road network—double the length of the U.S. highway system—and is billions of dollars behind on maintenance. New roads mean new costs, and taxpayers will foot the bill.

Resistance and Hope

Environmental groups like Western Watersheds Project, Tribal Nations, and state coalitions are already preparing legal challenges. Alaska’s Tongass National Forest—ground zero for past Roadless Rule fights—is once again under threat. The Organized Village of Kake, the Native village of Kasaan, and others have vowed to fight for their homelands and salmon streams. In Colorado and Idaho, where state-level roadless rules are still in place, governors have expressed opposition to the repeal.

In 2001, more than 1.6 million Americans submitted public comments in support of the Rule after 600 public hearings were held nationwide. More recently, over 45 members of Congress signed onto legislation that would codify the Rule, preventing future rollbacks without an act of Congress.

And let’s not forget: the Roadless Rule already includes exceptions. Forest managers can respond to fires, floods, and other emergencies. They can construct roads for community access, conduct prescribed burns, and implement wildlife habitat restoration. This is not a blanket ban—it is a targeted policy that works.

The Roadless Rule is one of the most successful conservation efforts in American history. What we’re witnessing now is an attempt to tear it out by the roots.

Click here to send a message to Congress today.

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Grace Kuhn is the Digital Director for Western Watersheds Project. grace@westernwatersheds.org