Trump Administration Moves to Roll Back Roadless Rule on Forests

The Trump administration moved Tuesday to roll back the "roadless rule," an environmental regulation that has blocked road construction — and by extension most logging and mining — on tens of millions of acres of public forest land for a quarter century.

The rule was introduced under the Clinton administration and took effect in 2001. It has been a flashpoint in the national debate over economic development versus wild land conservation, particularly in Western states.

"Our forests can't afford another decade of inaction," Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement announcing the change. "It's time to turn the page on the failed roadless rule and return our forests to health and productivity."

Republican governors of Montana, Utah and Wyoming praised the move in the same USDA release. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said rescinding the rule "restores the flexibility to make thoughtful decisions based on the needs of each forest and each community."

But conservation groups warned the rollback would endanger one of the country's most significant land protections. "The roadless rule protects some of the most valuable public lands that belong to all Americans," said Drew Caputo, a senior attorney at Earthjustice, calling it "the most important land protection measure of the last 60 years."

Steve Ellis, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, said the rule had ended decades of money-losing timber sales that effectively subsidized private logging operations at taxpayer expense. He said repealing it would deepen an already $6 billion Forest Service road maintenance backlog.

Administration officials and logging industry representatives argued the change would give firefighters better access to remote areas during a summer of severe Western wildfires. Nick Smith of the American Forest Resource Council called the roadless rule "outdated" and "not up to the challenges we're facing in our forests today."

Caputo countered that more than 80% of wildland fires are caused by human activity, and predicted more backcountry roads would mean more fires, not fewer.

The proposal comes as the administration has already weakened other environmental protections, including limits on Endangered Species Act enforcement and the opening of Pacific marine monuments to commercial fishing. Public comment on the roadless rule change will be accepted through September 21, 2026.