As this administration continues to roll back environmental protections and tries to sell off our public lands, forest defenders find their hands are full right now. Between comments to save the Boundary Waters from reintroducing copper mining, to burning the Shawnee National Forest, to rolling back the Roadless Rule, the powers that be want to bring more extraction tactics to our public land. At a time when our public land is being threatened more than ever, standing together to get the word out is so very important. In September of 2025, the United States Forest Service (USFS) opened a comment period where over 625,000 comments were received with the majority of comments being opposed to repealing the Roadless Rule. With so many comments received, the USFS has taken the process under review. For a short period of time, citizens have a chance to make their voices heard again.
Though an official comment period has not been reopened, many advocacy groups across the country are arranging public hearings where people have a chance to voice their concerns on repealing the act and the negative effects it will have on the environment. Even with a coalition of public lands advocates (Sierra Club included), the USFS has not planned any public hearings or a place where citizens can voice their concerns to the USFS. Many states and organizations are arranging town hall-like meetings where people can give testimonials, sign petitions, and become more informed on what is happening on their public lands.
What you need to know: the Roadless Area Conservation Rule (known as the Roadless Rule) not only protects pristine ecologically-intact land in 38 states, it protects drinking water, recreation opportunities, and wildlife habitat on 58.5 million acres of National Forest. These areas provide habitat for over 1,600 threatened or endangered species. Wild nature is not the only thing threatened; over 60 million Americans rely on the drinking water these national forests supply.
According to the Wilderness Society, wildfires are four times more likely in areas with roads compared to roadless areas. The Pacific Biodiversity Institute results confirm, “over 90% of wildfires occurred within a half mile from a road.”
Currently the USFS has $10Billion of backlogged road maintenance, yet they want to add more roads to valuable wilderness areas. Where would funding for more roads come from? Do the economics of leaving these places standing roadless make more sense than destroying and extracting more for these areas? Public lands support a “$1.2 Trillion outdoor economy and support 5 million US jobs.” (Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, 2023)
Why Roadless? Every time a road goes into a forest or grassland, it cuts the biodiversity in half. Insect populations, plants, and animals suffer greatly from putting roads in natural areas. Not every inch of public land needs to be altered by human hands. These wildlife corridors provide areas for migrating birds not to mention the recreation experiences they give to humans.
In our region, some of our wilderness areas may not be as sizable as wilderness areas out west or in Alaska, but that makes them more vital to wildlife because these places are left to wild nature. What you can do: plan a Forest Forum Meeting in your area to address the Roadless Rule. Offer people a place to comment, sign their names, and take testimonials by recording them.
One example in Indiana, the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter is planning a showing of the Crown Jewels: Saving Old Growth Forests, followed by public discussion, and ending with public testimonials to defend Roadless Areas. The event will happen in Bloomington at the Monroe County Library in late March or early April. The Deam Wilderness in the Hoosier National Forest has Roadless acres and even though not as extensive as western states, these places matter. And comments from everyone are admissible, even if there are no Roadless Acres in your area. Whether it is hiking, bird watching, fishing or hunting, these areas are irreplaceable and need to be left standing ROADLESS. It is time to join together and take a stand for public land.
The maps and acreage for each state can be found on the USDA website.
Lora Kemp
Vice Chair
Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter