USDA Reverses Roadless Rule to Boost Wildfire Management, Sparking Environmental Backlash

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will repeal the 2001 Roadless Rule, lifting protections on nearly 59 million acres of undeveloped federal forest lands. The move, aligned with President Donald Trump’s broader deregulation agenda, will permit logging, road-building, and mining in areas previously shielded from development under the Clinton-era policy.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins revealed the policy shift during the Western Governors’ Association meeting in Santa Fe, citing wildfire prevention as the driving motive. “We’re returning to common-sense forest management,” she said, blaming the rule for prohibiting tree thinning and contributing to a doubling of wildfire acreage since its adoption.

The U.S. Forest Service, a USDA division, oversees these lands, which represent about 30% of its holdings. States like Utah and Montana have been particularly impacted, with approximately 60% of their national forest areas restricted under the original rule. Rollins argued that local control is key to reducing wildfire risk.

However, critics say the rollback favors industry over conservation. Environmental groups like Earthjustice condemned the decision, warning it prioritizes logging profits over public interest. “This is about opening public lands to the timber industry at the expense of forests that belong to all Americans,” said Earthjustice VP Drew Caputo.

Opposition also came from New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who rejected the USDA’s claims, asserting that climate change—not conservation policy—is the main driver of wildfires.

The move mirrors the Trump administration’s 2020 exemption of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest from the Roadless Rule, which was later reinstated by President Joe Biden in 2023. Environmental advocates warn the latest repeal could accelerate clearcutting and increase wildfire risk in previously untouched forest ecosystems.