Rollins Seeks to Rescind Roadless Rule

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told the governors of Western states on Monday that the Trump administration will rescind a rule dating back to the Clinton administration that blocks logging on nearly 59 million acres of U.S. Forest Service land.

Known as the "Roadless Rule," Rollins said the 2001 rule prohibits the Forest Service from responsibly thinning and maintaining the nation's forests. Speaking to the Western Governors Association, Rollins said the rule is "misguided" and creates more wildfire risk, as well as forces the U.S. to rely more on foreign timber production.

"Once again, President Trump is removing absurd obstacles to common-sense management of our natural resources by rescinding the overly restrictive roadless rule," Rollins said in a news release. "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."

USDA stated, "Secretary Rollins' announcement today is the first step in the process to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule. The Department will issue formal notice on the rescission in the coming weeks."

The Roadless Rule applies to most U.S. Forest Service land except in Colorado and Idaho, which have their own specific rules for roads, logging and mining in forests.

Bloomberg reported Rollins told western governors the rule has "decimated" the nation's timber industry while cutting off public access to those areas. She also said the rule has failed to protect water quality, which was one of the original purposes of the rule.

The rule also will be tied to a new committee the Trump administration is creating on endangered species that will be led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. That committee has yet to meet.

The move, however, will very likely lead to litigation from environmental and conservation organizations as well as Native American tribes. The Roadless Rule already has been the subject of a long list of federal court decisions since its enactment.

In the first Trump administration, then-Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue moved to open up Tongass National Forest in Alaska to roads and logging access across 9 million acres, or about half of the protected forest. The final rule also opened up 188,000 acres of "old-growth timber" for logging, the rule stated in the Federal Register.

That rule wasn't finished until October 2020, which led to lawsuits by conservation groups and tribes in Alaska. USDA under the Biden administration then officially reinstated the Roadless Rule in Alaska in January 2023.

The "One Big Beautiful Bill" also includes a provision that would allow the federal government to sell off as much as 3 million acres of federal land across 11 Western states potentially for housing development. However, late Monday, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that provision would require 60 votes to pass, meaning it will likely need to be significantly altered or removed from the bill entirely.

Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., praised Rollins for making the announcement, calling it "a great day for the United States of America." Hageman said the Clinton administration rule violated multiple laws.

"This change in administration means that we are now going to be able to actively manage our national forests, create jobs and actually protect these resources that people find so valuable," Hageman said in a video on X. "By being able to build roads, and maintain the access to our national forests, we're going to be able to have more hunters and anglers, campers, hikers to be able to access and use these resources."

Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., also praised the move, saying the policy has done more harm than good in the West. "As Secretary Rollins made clear, the rule has blocked responsible forest management for over two decades, preventing thinning, logging, and the ability to build roads that are critical for wildfire response and public safety."

LaMalfa added, "Repealing the Roadless Rule won't fix everything overnight, but it's a major step toward restoring common-sense forest management and giving local experts the ability to do their jobs."

Alex Craven, Sierra Club's forest campaign manager, called Monday's announcement, "a corporate giveaway" by the Trump administration.

"Stripping our national forests of roadless rule protections will put close to 60 million acres of wildlands across the country on the chopping block. That means polluting our clean air and drinking water sources to pad the bottom lines of timber and mining companies -- all while pursuing the same kind of mismanagement that increases wildfire severity," Craven said.

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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