The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed rescinding the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule on National Forest System lands.
Commonly known as the Roadless Rule, over the last 24 years it has prevented construction of roads and other development on millions of acres of public land, mostly in western states and Alaska.
The USDA’s plan would undo those protections on about 45 million acres, according to the agency. The U.S. Forest Service is an agency within the USDA.
What does the Roadless Rule do?
The rule prohibits road construction or reconstruction and large-scale commercial logging on portions of the National Forest System.
However, the lands are open to the public, including for hunting, fishing, hiking, bird watching, camping and other forms of recreation, as well as for habitat restoration and wildfire prevention projects and building small, temporary roads for emergencies.
Why is the USDA proposing to rescind the Roadless Rule?
In a statement, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins said the administration of President Donald Trump is “dedicated to removing burdensome, outdated, one-size-fits-all regulations that not only put people and livelihoods at risk but also stifle economic growth in rural America.”
Rollins said rescinding the rule would align with Trump’s Executive Order 14192, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation and also support Executive Order 14153, Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential.
The administration’s proposal would return decision-making for road construction, road reconstruction and timber harvesting in inventoried roadless areas to local officials, in conjunction with National Forest-level land management planning, according to the Department of Agriculture.
How much public land could be impacted by the proposal?
The 2025 rescission would apply to 44.7 million acres of the nearly 60 million acres of inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest System, according to USDA. Most of the acreage is in Alaska and western U.S. states.
Would any land in Wisconsin be affected?
Wisconsin has 69,000 acres of inventoried roadless areas in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest that could be affected by the proposal, according to former USDA employees.
What have supporters of the Roadless Rule been saying about the proposal?
The proposal has drawn heavy criticism from conservationists and environmentalists who note the Roadless Rule was promulgated in response to a growing backlog of costs to maintain the more than 386,000 miles of roads across the National Forest System, helped protect undeveloped public lands and received a high level of public support.
When it was being developed, the rule was subjected to 600 public meetings and received about 1.6 million comments, with 95% in support, according to Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.
Mike Dombeck of Stevens Point was chief of the U.S. Forest Service when the rule was promulgated. He said the rule has played a critical role in protecting public land from development, provided great recreational opportunities and helped protect clean water.
“I’m hopeful people will speak out and oppose the proposal,” Dombeck said. “We are losing undeveloped land in America at a rapid clip. That makes these backcountry areas owned by the public even more valuable all the time.”
How can I comment on the proposal?
The USDA has initiated an environmental impact statement (EIS) and opened a public comment period on the plan. Comments must be received in writing by Sept. 19, 2025.
Comments can be submitted electronically or by mail. To submit electronically, access the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov, open docket number FS-2025-0001 and follow the instructions for submitting comments.
To comment by mail, send hardcopy letters to the Director, Ecosystem Management Coordination, 201 14th Street SW, Mailstop 1108, Washington, DC 20250-1124.
When is a decision expected on the proposal?
The proposed rule, accompanied by a draft EIS, is expected by March 2026, along with a request for additional public comment, according to the USDA. The final rule, EIS and record of decision are expected to be released in late 2026.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about the Roadless Rule. Would rescinding it impact forests in Wisconsin?
Reporting by Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
