Trump Administration Moves to Repeal Roadless Rule

This story is produced by Montana Free Press/Mountain Journal in collaboration with Grist as part of the Report for America Local News Initiative.

The Trump administration is proposing to rescind the Roadless Rule, a 25-year-old policy that bars development like road construction and logging on nearly 45 million acres of national forest land, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday.

In a press release, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the rule has led to overgrown and diseased forests ripe for deadly wildfires by limiting where the U.S. Forest Service can build roads and manage timber. Rescinding the Roadless Rule, the release said, will prioritize local decision-making over national-scale regulations. 

“Today’s long overdue decision will empower states like Montana to pursue proper forest management on federal lands with local communities in mind,” Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said in the release.

In a letter published last fall, more than 30 leading forest science researchers from across the country refuted the administration’s claims. The researchers found that over the last three decades across all Forest Service lands, the density of wildfire ignitions was lowest in wilderness and roadless areas. Their analyses also showed that the highest number of wildfire ignitions came from land in close proximity to roads. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, nearly 85 percent of wildfires are human-caused. 

The Roadless Rule protects nearly 6 million acres of federal public land in Montana, and nearly 10 million acres across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. 

“Roadless areas are vital habitat for elk, mule deer, trout and importantly grizzly bears,” said Scott Christensen, executive director of the nonprofit Greater Yellowstone Coalition. “At the same time, the federal government is proposing to shift management authority of grizzlies to the states, it’s removing the very land protections that have allowed grizzly bears to recover from near-extinction.”

Research has shown bears go out of their way to avoid roads and respond negatively to increased road density. Christensen said opening up millions of acres in Greater Yellowstone to road development “will eliminate one of the foundational elements in the recovery of grizzlies: secure habitat.” 

Wildlife groups have warned a rescission of the rule could have devastating consequences for a myriad of other species, like bull trout that predominantly spawn in streams in wilderness and roadless areas. Roadless areas contain key habitat for 57 percent of species of conservation concern. Road construction fragments habitat and can also negatively impact migration routes for animals like elk and pronghorn. 

There is widespread support for keeping the rule on the books. During a public comment period last fall, 99 percent of more than 625,000 comments opposed the proposed rescission of the rule. A Pew survey earlier this year that found 76 percent of likely voters nationally supported the rule by a strong margin. A University of Montana poll of residents from across the state earlier this year also showed broad bipartisan support for keeping the rule intact.

Jenny Harbine, a lawyer with Earthjustice, said Tuesday’s announcement is just the latest in a long string of anti-public lands and wildlife policies from the Trump administration. Repealing the rule would “jeopardize water quality, wildlife and backcountry recreational opportunities — all benefits of our public lands that Montanans value,” she said. “If the administration finalizes this misguided proposal, we’ll see them in court.”

The proposal to rescind the rule, along with a draft Environmental Impact Statement, will be published in the Federal Register on Thursday, Aug. 20. The Forest Service will take public comments on the documents through Sept. 21.