Michigan is a national forest state, even if we do not always think of ourselves that way. The Huron-Manistee National Forests encompass nearly one million acres across the northern Lower Peninsula. The Hiawatha National Forest protects nearly another million acres in the eastern and central Upper Peninsula, while the Ottawa National Forest stretches across one million acres of the western U.P.

Together, these forests encompass nearly three million acres of public land. Within them are congressionally designated wilderness areas, Wild and Scenic Rivers, Great Lakes shorelines, remote lakes, trout streams, wetlands, old growth forests and habitat for wolves, black bears, moose, loons, raptors and countless other species. They also provide places for hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, paddling, snowmobiling and other forms of outdoor recreation.

Two closely related federal proposals could significantly change how these lands and National Forest lands across the country are managed. One would rescind the Roadless Rule. The other would rewrite the Travel Management Rule. These actions would not repeal the Wilderness Act or eliminate protections for congressionally designated wilderness. But they could weaken protections for other undeveloped forest lands and change how decisions are made about roads, trails and motorized access.

The public has only a short time to respond.

The Roadless Rule: Protecting the Wildest Lands That Remain
The 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule generally prohibits new road construction, road reconstruction and most commercial timber harvesting in inventoried roadless areas, with limited exceptions for public safety, fire management, ecological restoration and other needs.

Roadless areas are not necessarily designated wilderness. Hunting, fishing, hiking, camping and other compatible activities remain allowed. Existing roads and established motorized routes can also remain open. What the rule does is protect some of the last largely undeveloped portions of our National Forests from the fragmentation and lasting environmental effects that accompany new roads.

Michigan has approximately 16,000 acres of inventoried roadless lands across all three of its National Forests:

• Huron-Manistee National Forests: Bear Swamp
• Hiawatha National Forest: Government Island, Fiber and Delirium
• Ottawa National Forest: Cascade Falls and Norwich Plains

These lands represent only about 0.5% of the Forest Service land in Michigan. Protecting them is a modest commitment to preserving some of the most intact places we have left. Roadless forests help protect cold water streams and wetlands, filter drinking water, provide interior wildlife habitat and reduce the spread of invasive species. They also offer something increasingly difficult to find: quiet places where people can experience forests without traffic, development and constant human infrastructure.

Roads can affect much more than the ground directly beneath them. They fragment habitat, carry sediment into waterways, introduce invasive plants and create new human access and ignition sources for wildfires. They also create maintenance responsibilities for an agency that already faces a multibillion-dollar infrastructure backlog. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is now proposing to rescind the Roadless Rule nationwide, removing protections from approximately 45 million acres of National Forest land.

Comments on the Roadless Rule proposal are due September 21, 2026.

Submit a Roadless Rule comment through Sierra Club

The Travel Management Rule: The Rules of the Road
The Travel Management Rule addresses a different but closely connected question: Where may motor vehicles travel within our National Forests? Since 2005, the rule has required individual National Forests to designate the roads, trails and areas open to different classes of motor vehicles. Those decisions are reflected on Motor Vehicle Use Maps so visitors can determine where cars, trucks, dirt bikes, ATVs and other motorized vehicles are permitted.

The existing system allows local Forest Service managers to work with communities, Tribal governments and forest users while considering wildlife, water quality, public safety, cultural resources and potential conflicts among recreational uses. The Forest Service is now considering a new national policy that would presume existing roads, trails and other access routes should be open to public use unless a closure or restriction is supported by documented reasons.

The proposal would not immediately reopen every closed road or trail. Existing designations and Motor Vehicle Use Maps would remain effective until they are revised. However, the proposed framework would:

• Require annual reviews of roads, trails and other access points that are closed or highly restricted;
• Remove the Travel Management Rule’s existing national criteria for minimizing environmental damage and conflicts among users;
• Create processes for certain forms of limited off route motorized use;
• Require consideration of new roads, trails and other access points where the agency determines they may be appropriate;
• Make it easier to revise some existing travel management decisions.

Travel management is not about excluding motorized recreation from National Forests. It is about establishing dependable access while ensuring that motorized use occurs in places capable of sustaining it. Without clear and enforceable rules, unmanaged motorized travel can damage wetlands and stream crossings, spread invasive species, disturb wildlife, accelerate erosion and create conflicts among hunters, anglers, hikers, horseback riders, mountain bikers, snowmobilers, motorized users and neighboring property owners.

Michigan offers a particularly relevant example. The Forest Service currently reminds hunters on the Hiawatha National Forest that motor vehicles may travel only on roads and trails shown as open on the forest’s Motor Vehicle Use Map. Cross country motorized travel, including travel for game retrieval, is generally prohibited. The proposed national revisions could change the standards governing future decisions about those routes and uses.

Comments on the Travel Management Rule proposal are due September 23, 2026.

Submit a Travel Management Rule comment through Regulations.gov

Why These Proposals Must Be Considered Together
The Roadless Rule and Travel Management Rule serve different purposes, but together they provide complementary protections. The Roadless Rule addresses whether new roads should be constructed in inventoried roadless areas. The Travel Management Rule determines where motorized vehicles may travel across the broader National Forest road and trail system.

Rescinding one rule while weakening the other could make it easier to expand both roads and motorized access while reducing the safeguards used to protect water, wildlife habitat and quiet recreation. That is why people who care about Michigan’s National Forests should submit comments on both proposals.

Join Sierra Club’s National Online Event
Sierra Club is holding a national virtual event about the Roadless Rule and the accompanying Travel Management Rule comment periods.

Tuesday, September 15, 2026
6:00 to 6:30 p.m. Eastern
Virtual event

Participants will learn more about both proposals, why they matter and how to submit effective public comments before the deadlines.

Register for Sierra Club’s Roadless Rule and Travel Management Rule livestream

Make Your Comments Personal
Personalized, substantive comments are especially valuable. Tell the Forest Service:

• Which Michigan National Forests or other public lands you visit;
• Whether you hike, camp, hunt, fish, paddle, bird, snowmobile or participate in other forest activities;
• Why clean water, wildlife habitat, roadless lands or responsible motorized access matter to you;
• Which specific places you want protected;
• How the proposed changes could affect your experiences or the resources you value.

Michigan’s National Forests belong to all of us. Decisions about their future should be made carefully, transparently and with the lasting health of these lands in mind.

Please make your voice heard twice.