The Trump administration has opened a comment period starting this Friday, August 29th, in order to rescind the 2001 National Roadless Rule. That regulation largely limits road construction and logging on national forest wildlands in most of the United States. The US Department of Agriculture opened up a comment period today. Comments are accepted until September 19th.
This is essentially another version of a public lands selloff. This administration wants to sell out the public’s forests by opening remote, protected areas to logging, roadbuilding and other development that will forever change the character of these forest that belong to all of us.
With more than 9 million acres of roadless national forests, Idaho is the wildest state in the Lower 48. Our mission area boasts roughly 1.5 million acres of roadless forest, including iconic wild landscapes like the Great Burn, Meadow Creek, Mallard-Larkins, and Weitas Creek roadless areas.
As of today, the 2008 Idaho Roadless Rule, a (much weaker) regulation that governs those roadless areas in Idaho, has not been targeted by the Trump administration. However, we strongly encourage commenting on this important change in federal policy. The roadless rule is our best (and perhaps only) chance to protect wild national forests during this administration.
We need you to stand up for these irreplaceable wild places. Here are three basic talking points to inform your comment:
The 2001 Roadless Rule has limited development of wild public lands in most of the wild forests of the US. These are invaluable places for wildlife and backcountry recreation.
Roadless areas should have greater protections under federal regulations, not less. Existing loopholes in the Idaho, Colorado, and National rules can and should be closed.
The roadless rule should be re-written to include Idaho and Colorado, which are currently governed by much weaker regulations.
As always, Friends of the Clearwater recommends writing an individualized comment, not copying and pasting from organizations (including us!). Telling your personal story helps make your case. Have you hiked the Great Burn in Montana? Have you fished Weitas Creek in Idaho? Have you hunted in Nevada’s Ruby mountains?
Whatever is most important to you, whether it’s abundant wildlife, carbon-sequestering forests, or revitalizing solitude, is what is most important to say.
Where to comment: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2025-16581
What are roadless areas?
Roadless areas are undeveloped national forest lands. They are essentially wilderness areas without congressional protection. Roadless and unroaded wild places have been in massive decline for the last century, caused by insatiable expansion of human infrastructure and exploitation. Today, roadless areas make up roughly 60 million acres of the national forests of the United States, or 2.5% of the entire country. The majority of those areas are located in Alaska and the Western half of the lower 48. Idaho has 9 million acres of roadless public lands, the most of any in the lower 48.
Wild, undeveloped areas on other public lands (managed by the BLM, USFWS, or NPS) are administered differently.
How do roadless areas protect wildlife?
Roadless areas are crucial for many kinds of wildlife. Elk herds benefit from the habitat security of places far from easy access by automobile or OHV. Several wild carnivores are essentially roadless-dependent, like grizzly bears and wolverines. Roadless watersheds are some of the most productive for cold-water fish in the region, like the salmon-bearing Meadow Creek, which is nearly entirely roadless.
How do roadless areas affect climate change?
Roadless areas are critical to reduce climate change impacts. American forests absorb roughly 1/3rd of the annual fossil emissions of the country. Many old-growth forests, which keep millions of tons of carbon out of the atmosphere for centuries or millennia, are found in roadless areas. Unlogged forests consistently store more carbon than logged forests.
Why are Idaho and Colorado not included in the 2001 Rule?
Roadless areas in Idaho and Colorado are currently governed by two state-specific federal rules. These rules are much more lenient for road-building and timber production than the national rule. Both states should be included on a stronger version of the national (2001) roadless rule.
Why is the Trump administration targeting wild public lands?
The Trump administration’s view of public lands is that they are only a source of raw materials for corporations. In order to hit the ludicrously high timber targets on the national forests, roadless areas would have to be opened up to much greater logging, roadbuilding, and development.
Are roadless areas wilderness?
Roadless areas are "wild" but not congressionally-designated wilderness areas. They are essentially unprotected wildernesses. Most congressionally-protected wildernesses were once inventoried roadless areas (IRAs). A small number of roadless areas are recommended for protection as wilderness by the US Forest Service, most are not.
How would NREPA change roadless protections?
The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA) would permanently protect 20 million acres of roadless country as wilderness in six states. It has been introduced as recently as this year: https://allianceforthewildrockies.org/nrepa/
Is the 2001 Roadless Rule a law?
No. The Roadless Rule is a federal regulation that was created at the end of the Clinton administration. It is not a law, but is subject to the same standards of public process that other federal actions are. The Trump administration, more than any other, has a general disdain for the public process and legal accountability for the government and corporations.
Why is logging in roadless areas an issue?
Roadless areas tend to be in very steep, high elevation areas, like the more remote parts of the Rocky Mountains. These areas are very expensive to log, and timber projects on public lands almost always come at a loss to the tax-payer. The costs of fixing roads is immense (the Forest Service is the largest road manager on the planet, managing some 380,000 miles of active roads, roughly five times more mileage than the US interstate system), and the damages to wildlife are diverse and chronic.
Friends of the Clearwater
PO Box 9241
Moscow, ID 83843
(208) 882-9755
