Sierra Club Oregon Chapter Statement on Gutting of Roadless Rule Protections

PORTLAND, Ore. — Today, the USDA Forest Service released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on the proposed repeal of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, with a 30-day public comment period opening Aug. 20. During this time, the public can urge the Forest Service to maintain the rule that protects undeveloped roadless areas across the country, including well-known locations in Oregon such as West-South Bachelor, miles of the Pacific Crest Trail and Timberline Trail on Mt. Hood, and Bend’s drinking watershed.

The USDA’s proposed rule would rescind the Roadless Rule in its entirety, removing protections from nearly two million acres of roadless areas in Oregon, opening them to road building, mining, drilling, and logging. While wildfire is cited as a reason to rescind the rule, studies show that wildfires are four times more likely to ignite near roads, and the Roadless Rule has always allowed for targeted actions to reduce hazardous fuels. 

In response, Damon Motz-Storey, Sierra Club Oregon Chapter Director, released the following statement:

“The Trump administration is trying to bulldoze our public lands at every turn, but that won’t stop Oregonians from fighting for the heart of our state. The Roadless Rule is one of the few safeguards that exist to keep our wildlands wild, protecting our critical wildlife habitats, fresh air, and clean water. By keeping industrial development at bay and preserving fire-resilient intact forests, the rule has helped prevent further wildland fires, the majority of which are caused by humans in close proximity to roads. With the future of our forests on the line, this is a critical moment for people to let the Trump administration know we won’t be steamrolled and neither should our forests.”

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND

The Roadless Area Conservation Rule was enacted in 2001 to protect nearly 60 million acres of national forests across 36 states and Puerto Rico. In June 2025, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the administration’s plan to repeal the rule, which would open these wild landscapes to roads and development. A brief public comment period was held in the fall of 2025 and received more than 600,000 comments — 99% of which supported retaining the rule.  

The two-decade-old rule protects against new roadbuilding and the extractive industries that roads can lead to, such as logging and mining, in backcountry forestlands that have been undisturbed by major development. During the process that led to the original 2001 rule, the U.S. Forest Service held more than 600 public meetings over 18 months to help inform the policy. 

Roadless forests offer people a wide range of recreational activities, provide wildlife with much-needed habitat and range connectivity, and protect the headwaters of rivers, which are vital for maintaining clean drinking water nationwide. Rescinding the Roadless Rule would increase logging and other destructive, extractive development in public forests that currently function as intact ecosystems, benefiting wildlife and people alike.