Roadless Rule Rollback Could Open Door to Forest Management

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule. The announcement came during a recent meeting of the Western Governors’ Association in New Mexico. The rule restricts road construction, reconstruction, and timber harvesting on 58.5 million acres of designated roadless areas across national forests, including more than 2.5 million acres in California.

According to the California Cattlemen’s Association, the Roadless Rule has been cited as a barrier to wildfire preparedness efforts, including timber harvest and grazing management. The USDA has identified 28 million acres of these inventoried roadless areas as being at high or very high risk of wildfire.

According to the CCA, land managers would gain greater flexibility to carry out active forest management if the rule is officially rescinded. However, any new forest projects would still need to comply with existing environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.

For more: https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2025/06/23/secretary-rollins-rescinds-roadless-rule-eliminating-impediment-responsible-forest-management#:~:text=(Santa%20Fe%2C%20N.M.%2C%20June,economic%20development%20across%20rural%20America.