"The USDA will publish a notice of intent to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule protecting millions of acres of wild areas in national forests, including 4.4 million acres in California."
"The Trump administration on Wednesday took formal steps to rescind a decades-old rule that protects 58.5 million acres of wild areas in national forests, including 4.4 million acres in California.
United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins said the agency will publish a notice of intent in the Federal Register on Friday to roll back the so-called Roadless Rule, initiating a 21-day public comment period and moving the process closer to reality.
“We are one step closer to common sense management of our national forest lands,” Rollins said in a statement. (The USDA oversees the U.S. Forest Service.)
The rule was enacted by the Clinton administration in 2001 after years of work and record-breaking input from the public. It established lasting protection for specified wilderness areas within national forests by prohibiting road construction and logging which can destroy or disrupt habitats, increase erosion and worsen sediment pollution in drinking water, among other outcomes."
Hayley Smith reports for the Los Angeles Times August 27, 2025.
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