SANTA FE, N.M. – Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced during a meeting of the Western Governors’ Association in New Mexico that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule.
This outdated administrative rule contradicts the will of Congress and conflicts with the USDA Forest Service’s mandate to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands. Rescinding this rule will remove prohibitions on road construction, reconstruction, and timber harvest on nearly 59 million acres of the National Forest System, allowing for fire prevention and responsible timber production.
This rule is overly restrictive and poses real harm to millions of acres of our national forests. In total, 30% of National Forest System lands are impacted by this rule. For example, nearly 60% of the Forest Service land in Utah is restricted from road development and is therefore unable to be managed effectively for fire risk. In Montana, the rate is 58%, and in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, the largest in the country, 92% of the area is impacted. This also hurts jobs and economic development across rural America. Utah alone estimates that the roadless rule creates a 25% decrease in economic growth in the forestry sector.
“Once again, President Trump is removing absurd obstacles to common-sense management of our natural resources by rescinding the overly restrictive roadless rule,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins. “This move opens a new era of consistency and sustainability for our nation’s forests. It is abundantly clear that properly managing our forests preserves them from devastating fires and allows future generations of Americans to enjoy and reap the benefits of this great land.”
This action aligns with President Trump’s Executive Order 14192, “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,” to eliminate overcomplicated and burdensome barriers that hinder American business and innovation. It will also enable more decisions to be made at the local level, allowing land managers to make the best decisions to protect people, communities, and resources based on their unique local conditions.
Of the 58.5 million acres of inventoried roadless areas covered under the 2001 Roadless Rule, 28 million acres are in areas at high or very high risk of wildfire. Rescinding this rule will enable the land to be managed at the local forest level, with greater flexibility to take swift action to reduce wildfire risk and protect surrounding communities and infrastructure.
