On June 23, Secretary Rollins announced that the USDA is rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule. 

On Aug 29, the USDA published a notice of intent, kicking off a 21 -day comment period which ends September 19. The scoping period set the stage for the rulemaking. This was our opportunity to inform the USDA about which issues are important and therefore, which issues they should address when developing the EIS. We expect the DEIS this spring.

The proposed rollback of the 2001 Roadless Rule jeopardizes nearly 45 million acres of undeveloped backcountry forestland managed by the U.S. Forest Service, comprising around a third of the territory in our national forest system. These forests have only remained intact because of the Forest Service’s nearly 25-year-old commitment not to build roads in these areas for harmful activities like major logging operations or oil-and-gas drilling.

Since 2001, protected roadless areas have offered abundant outdoor recreation opportunities such as hunting, fishing, camping or other activities. Every year, millions of people take advantage of the free (or extremely affordable) access to these public lands. According to maps from Outdoor Alliance’s GIS Lab, roadless areas protect 25,121 miles of trails, more than 10,000 backcountry climbing routes. 768 miles of whitewater and 10,794 miles of mountain biking trails. Large sections of the Continental Divide, Pacific Crest, and Appalachian National Trails traverse protected roadless areas.