US moves to roll back roadless forest protections as the Trump administration seeks to rescind a 25-year-old policy governing undeveloped national forests, potentially opening nearly 45 million acres to new roads, drilling and logging. The US Forest Service formally proposed ending the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule on Tuesday, arguing that the restrictions prevent local managers from carrying out forest treatments needed to improve forest health and reduce wildfire risks.

The proposal marks a major potential change in how some of the country’s most remote public forests are managed. The rule was introduced under President Bill Clinton after concerns about logging and road construction in undeveloped national forest areas.

What Would Change?

The roadless rule currently restricts road construction and certain forms of development across millions of acres of national forest. Rescinding it would return greater authority to individual forest managers and potentially make previously restricted areas available for roads, logging, drilling and other activities.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins described the existing restrictions as outdated and argued that local officials are better positioned to determine what individual forests need.

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Administration Links Rule to Wildfire Risk

The Forest Service says wildfire danger has increased across many roadless areas.

• Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said more than 40% of inventoried roadless areas, mainly in the western US, have high or very high wildfire hazard potential.
• However, only about 5% of those areas have received hazardous-fuels reduction treatments since 2014, according to the agency.

The administration argues that removing the roadless restrictions would give crews greater flexibility to conduct forest management and wildfire-prevention work.

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Conservation Groups Strongly Oppose Plan

Environmental organisations say the wildfire argument overlooks existing provisions that allow targeted fuel-reduction activities under the roadless rule.

The Sierra Club argued that roads can increase the likelihood of human-caused fires and said the policy protects some of the country’s remaining intact forests from industrial development.

The Natural Resources Defense Council has also urged the public to submit comments, warning that the proposal could expose tens of millions of acres to logging, drilling and road construction.

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Alaska’s Tongass Forest in Focus

Some of the strongest concerns centre on Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, the largest roadless area in the national forest system.

• The region contains extensive old-growth forests and supports species including bears, wolves and bald eagles.
• Conservation groups also point to the economic importance of the landscape.
• Tourism, fishing and outdoor recreation connected to the Tongass and neighbouring Chugach National Forest support thousands of jobs and generate significant economic activity.

The forests also store substantial amounts of carbon, making changes to their management relevant beyond local environmental concerns.

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Public Has Until September 21

The proposal now enters a public comment period, with submissions due by September 21. The process could attract significant opposition from conservation groups, local communities and other stakeholders concerned about development on federal lands.

For US moves to roll back roadless forest protections, the central debate is likely to remain the same: whether opening more undeveloped forests to roads and commercial activity will improve wildfire management or instead create new pressures on ecosystems that have remained largely intact for decades.

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