Action Alert: Roadless Rule Rescission Posted For Public Comment

Today, the Forest Service has taken the next step in rescinding the Roadless Rule, potentially making 4.4 million acres of old-growth forests, rivers, and wildlife in California vulnerable to industrial logging and road development.

We have a 3-week comment period to submit letters to the USDA, telling them which issues they should address when developing the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for this rescission of the rule.

First, there was an attempt by members of Congress to sell off public lands. Now, this administration wants to sell out our nation’s public forests by opening remote, protected areas like Bug Creek & Mad River Buttes to logging, roadbuilding, and other development. We can’t let that happen.

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*There isn’t an automated way to direct comments to the Federal Register, so we apologize for the inconvenience.*

How to Submit Comments Online:

1. Navigate to www.Regulations.gov

2. Search for the proposed rule by entering the docket number: FS-2025-0001

3. Click the "Comment" button on the top left corner of the docket page.

4. Enter your information.

5. Write your comment. You can type your comment directly into the text box provided or upload a file.

How to Submit Comments in the Mail:

1. Write your letter or postcard

   
   

2. Address the letter to:

   
   

   Director, Ecosystem Management Coordination

   201 14th Street SW, Mailstop 1108

   Washington, DC 20250-1124

3. Stamp it and put it in your mail box

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Sample comment below:

Secretary Rollins,

I urge you not to rescind the Roadless Rule. The 45 million acres of remote, wild and roadless forests across our country are the few pockets of unbroken forest where nature can flourish undisturbed.

The longer that forests are left alone and the longer that trees are left to grow, the more time a fully-fledged, interconnected forest ecosystem has to develop. The older trees in these forests support endangered wildlife and while filtering and storing clean water that downstream communities depend on.

Habitat connectivity is one of the most important functions of intact, roadless forests, providing migration corridors for species such as elk, deer, fishers, and salmon. Rescinding the Roadless Rule would fragment these landscapes, cutting off wildlife from breeding grounds, food sources, and seasonal ranges, and diminishing the ability of older forests to sustain resilient ecosystems and buffer against climate change.

People rock climb, hike, bike, hunt, fish and ski in these remote places. These forests also provide cultural, recreational, and ceremonial value for communities and Tribes who depend on intact landscapes for traditional practices, gathering, and ceremony.

Rolling back the Roadless Rule will not protect communities from wildfire and may in fact lead to more wildfires. Wildfires are four times as likely to start in areas with roads than in roadless forest tracts and 90 percent of all wildfires nationwide started within half a mile of a road.

We shouldn’t jeopardize the wildlife, habitat connectivity, recreation and clean water that these beloved intact forests provide by opening them to road-building, commercial logging, mining and drilling. Please leave America’s last wild forests alone.

Sincerely,

(Your Name)