During the summer of 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced plans to rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, an act commonly known as the Roadless Rule. The Roadless Rule safeguards forest habitat by conserving wild lands without roads and prohibiting any extraction of resources. Justin Boyles, the conservation advocate of Environment Oregon ― a nonprofit organization with the mission of protecting the natural world ― warned that “[rescinding the rule] would undo one of the most important conservation achievements of the past generation, and put a lot of these really irreplaceable wild forests at risk.” Without the rule’s protections, many natural areas in Oregon could lose their environmental and recreational benefits.
The Roadless Rule was issued in 2001 by the Clinton administration. For more than two decades, it has protected nearly 60 million acres of U.S. forests and grasslands from road development, logging, mining, oil drilling, and other environmentally destructive practices — although Idaho and Colorado were removed from its purview when they established more permanent state-specific protections. The Roadless Rule applies to two million acres in Oregon, including what Sami Godlove, the Central Oregon field coordinator for Oregon Wild, called “some of [the] wildest areas.” Godlove explained that these areas have never been developed or cut through with roads, and that the ones in Oregon are “some of the last remaining old-growth forests in the U.S.”
“Any species you can think of in Oregon that depends on forests, really depends on these roadless areas, because a lot of their other habitat we have developed or destroyed already,” stated Godlove. For example, marbled murrelets can only nest in these old-growth forests. Old-growth forests take centuries to form, which is why it is increasingly rare to have a forest without human disturbance. Godlove also cited this habitat as important for the salmon life cycle as it is where, after making their return from the ocean, “they go to spawn and lay eggs, and then where baby salmon start their lives.” According to Boyles, these areas are critical to the biodiversity of Oregon forests because the Roadless Rule preserves wildlife habitat instead of fragmenting areas with roads.
The old-growth forests in roadless areas serve another important purpose. “They’re the Earth’s natural lungs,” said Godlove. “They soak up carbon dioxide, they release oxygen.” While storing carbon may seem inconsequential, it plays a significant role in mitigating climate change by removing harmful greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Oregon forests are a great example. “These forests are able to store more carbon per acre than almost any other forest in the world, even more than the Amazon rainforest, just because these trees get so large and store this carbon for centuries,” Godlove added.
Moreover, forests under the Roadless Rule naturally filter water in addition to air. Godlove described how Tumalo Mountain, an area actively protected by the Roadless Rule, is “very important for all of us in Bend, because that’s where our drinking water comes from.” She explained, “When you cut down these forests and remove these trees, water ― instead of being soaked up by the soil ― just runs off straight into the rivers.” This runoff can cause sediment pollution and issues for drinking water systems.
Boyles mentioned how roadless areas are “really important to sustaining local economies that are built around fishing, hunting, or recreation.” Oregon’s roadless areas encompass a long list of places beloved by local communities, including parts of the Mount Hood National Forest, the Columbia River Gorge, Larch Mountain, and Lost Lake. Godlove explained how these places are used for various purposes, ranging from picnics to camping to hiking to snowshoeing, and much more. He emphasized the importance of protecting these special areas for modern and future generations to experience and enjoy.
However, the Roadless Rule and all that it protects are at risk. Since the Roadless Rule is an administrative policy, the Trump administration has the full power to remove it; this is something they are currently attempting to do. According to Boyles, “Rolling back this rule would open up some of our wildest forests to destructive practices, fragment habitat, pollute the streams, and would permanently change these landscapes that remained largely untouched for decades.” Heather Ibsen, the U.S. Forest Service public affairs officer, noted, “Before the Department [of Agriculture] can implement their intention to rescind the Roadless Rule, they first have to go through an analysis process as outlined by the National Environmental Policy Act.” The analysis process involves taking months to create an Environmental Impact Statement, which Ibsen said “reflect[s] the time taken to evaluate research on the Roadless Rule and its impact across the country.”
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said in her press release on June 23, 2025, that the Roadless Rule is “overly restrictive,” and limits economic development across America as timber and other natural resources are unable to be extracted by companies. She claimed that removing the rule “preserves [the forests] from devastating fires.” Counter to Rollins’ claim, Juliet Grable, a writer for the Sierra Club, stated, “The Roadless Rule already contains provisions that allow for roadbuilding, firefighting activity, and ecological thinning to lower wildfire risk.” While roads do allow easier access for firefighting, they often exacerbate the hot and dry conditions that spread wildfires and increase the likelihood of human-caused fires.
In late August to early September of 2025, the government held a public comment period, with over 99% of the 600,000 comments in favor of keeping the Roadless Rule, according to Godlove. Boyles pointed out that this broad support is bipartisan, including “tribal nations, hunters, anglers, outdoor recreation businesses, clean water advocates, and conservationists.” A similar comment period is estimated to occur again this April, which will be an opportunity for community members to be involved in this process. Both Environment Oregon and Oregon Wild have worked to educate the public on how to submit public comments and why it is important. When the comment period reopens, statements can be submitted through the governmental notice portal, sent by mail to the USDA Ecosystem Management Coordination, or shared through templates offered by a variety of organizations. Boyles added, “Building grassroots support has always been a backbone of the policy.” As mentioned by Godlove, Oregon Wild has also worked to inform key decision-makers in Oregon, so that they are “willing to take a strong stance” against the repeal of the Roadless Rule.
Though Godlove said it seemed unlikely for the Trump administration to keep the Roadless Rule, this is not the end for Oregon roadless areas. Currently, there is a bill in Congress called the Roadless Area Conservation Act that would grant the same protections as the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, but would become a more permanent strategy. Boyles explained, “Environment Oregon is actively urging Oregon senators and really senators from across the country to support legislation that would permanently enshrine roadless protections into law.” He added, “If we continue mobilizing voices, continue mobilizing lawmakers, at the end of the day, we can be successful.”
