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Trump’s Department of Agriculture working on rescinding Roadless Rule, Comment deadline Sept 19th
Above is a photo of an old growth ponderosa pine in the Sand Creek Roadless Area of the Black Hills National Forest
Trump’s Department of Agriculture working on rescinding Roadless Rule – the Comment deadline is Friday, Sept 19th.
The Clinton Administration in 2001, after doing an EIS, passed an administrative rule to designate subsets of many National Forests and Grasslands as Roadless Areas. The more than 58 million acres of roadless areas represent some of the USA’s most intact public lands. There are restrictions that prevent logging and roads in Roadless Areas, with some exceptions.
In the Black Hills of SD and Wyoming we have 3 roadless areas- Sand Creek, Inyan Kara and Beaver Park. On the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands we have a least two. -Indian Creek & Red Shirt. There are roadless areas in Forests and Grasslands of neighboring states also.
Trump would remove those protections.
INDEX – Below are:
1) 3 environmental groups with alerts and pre-fab letters on this.
2) We also provide 2 environmental groups pre-fab letters to congress asking for relief via legislation.
3) Below that are excerpts from the Federal Register, if you want to post original comments.
PRE-FAB LETTERS
but here is EarthJustice’s pre-fab letters on this:
https://earthjustice.org/feature/roadless-rule-photos
Here is the National Audubon Society’s pre-fab letters on this:
Sierra Club’s alert & pre-fab letter on this:
https://www.sierraclub.org/Sierra/roadless-rule-trump-wants-rescind-what-does-that-mean
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Alternate Approach, to ask Congress for relief:
WildEarth Guardian’s pre-fab letter to Congressmen & women:
https://action.wildearthguardians.org/page/87111/action/1?ea.url.id=3987744
John Muir Project pre-fab letter request to congressmen & women for protection of Roadless Areas in federal law:
https://johnmuirproject.org/take-action/#/21
Wilderness Society article on the subject:
https://www.wilderness.org/articles/press-release/attack-roadless-forests-officially-underway
AGENCY:
Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA).
ACTION:
Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
SUMMARY:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is initiating an environmental impact statement (EIS) and rulemaking concerning management of inventoried roadless areas on approximately 44.7 million acres of National Forest System lands, including in Alaska. The proposed rule would rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule (2001 Roadless Rule) (66 FR 3244, 36 CFR Subpart B (2001)), which prohibits road construction, road reconstruction, and timber harvesting in inventoried roadless areas, with limited exceptions. State-specific roadless rules for Idaho and Colorado at 36 CFR 294 Subparts C and D will be retained and are excluded from this notice. Rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule is intended to return decision making for road construction, road reconstruction, and timber harvesting in inventoried roadless areas to local officials, in conjunction with Forest-level land management planning. As directed by Executive Order 14153: Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential, the proposed rule will expressly exclude the Tongass National Forest from the 2001 Roadless Rule. The EIS will evaluate the impacts of the proposed rule rescission and study alternatives for roadless area conservation on National Forest System lands, including the Tongass National Forest, in the context of multiple use resource management. USDA invites written comments on alternatives or effects and on relevant information, studies, or analyses with respect to the proposal.
DATES:
Comments must be received in writing by September 19, 2025. The proposed rule, accompanied by a draft EIS, is expected by March 2026, along with a request for additional public comment. The final rule, EIS, and record of decision are expected to be released in late 2026.
ADDRESSES:
Additional information, including the eventual publication of the EIS and record of decision, can be found on the following website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/planning/roadless.Comments must be submitted via one of the following methods:
- Electronically (preferred): Through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, https://www.regulations.gov, identified by docket number FS-2025-0001. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
- Mail: Hardcopy letters must be submitted to the Director, Ecosystem Management Coordination, 201 14th Street SW, Mailstop 1108, Washington, DC 20250-1124.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brad Kinder, Acting Director, Ecosystem Management Coordination, at the following phone number: 202-205-0650. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may call 711 to reach the Telecommunications Relay Service then provide the phone number of the person named as a point of contact for further information.