Cascadia Wildlands’ Statement on Fed’s Roadless Rule Repeal

Eugene, OR — Today, the Trump administration is advancing its repeal of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, commonly called the Roadless Rule, despite overwhelming public opposition. The proposed rollback of the widely popular Roadless Rule threatens nearly 45 million acres of intact backcountry public forestland managed by the U.S. Forest Service, or about a third of the entire national forest system. These forests have only remained intact because of the Forest Service’s 25-year-old commitment not to build roads in these areas for harmful extractive practices like major logging operations and oil-and-gas drilling. The agency’s proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement will be available for public review tomorrow, August 19, 2026, on Regulations.gov. 

Cascadia Wildlands, a Eugene-based non-profit conservation organization that works to defend and restore Cascadia’s wild ecosystems, strongly opposes the repeal of the Roadless Rule, which protects large swaths of resilient, intact forests across the Cascadia bioregion including Hardesty Mountain east of Eugene, sections of the Pacific Crest Trail near Waldo Lake, the Oregon Dunes, and many more special places. 

Grace Brahler Newsome, Wildlands Director with Cascadia Wildlands, said the following of the Roadless Rule repeal: 

“Repealing the Roadless Rule is a net loss for current and future generations. National forests supply drinking water to millions of people, support a multi-billion-dollar outdoor recreation industry, and provide irreplaceable fish and wildlife habitat and carbon storage. Roads spread invasive species, fragment wildlife habitat, and erode the very ecological resilience we need in the face of a warming climate. Once roads and clearcuts fragment these landscapes, the damage is permanent.” 

“The Trump administration claims its repeal of the Roadless Rule will reduce wildfire risk, but that’s misguided at best and a bold-faced lie at worst. Studies show that roads lead to more fire starts. If the administration actually wanted to reduce wildfire risk, it wouldn’t be gutting federal land management agencies and ramping up logging in fire-resilient mature and old-growth forests.” 

“Enabling more road building and logging would not only cause lasting ecological damage – it would line the pockets of the industrial logging industry and add to an already massive road network across national forests, further burdening taxpayers with the ongoing expenses of building and maintaining rarely used roads and increasing fire risk. Yet again, the Trump administration is attempting to sell out public lands for short-term private gain.”

The Forest Service announced a truncated 30 day public comment period, half the usual period allowed for public engagement. Unless that period is extended, the administration will accept public comments through September 21, 2026.