Murphy – A looming end to the “Roadless Rule,” which has limited use of 58.5 million acres of roadless U.S. Forest Service lands for a quarter-century, may be in line with a petition filed by the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners but has alarmed environmental groups.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that her department has taken the next step in the rule-making process for rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule by opening a public comment period. Commissioners filed a “petition of grievances” with the federal government that included issues with forest management practices and public access, saying Forest Service policies have ruined the local timber industry and prevented public access.
MountainTrue, an environmental advocacy group in western North Carolina with an office downtown, said in a release to its members that the Roadless Rule has protected the Forest Service’s acreage.
“The Roadless Rule was finalized in 2001 after years of planning and public consultation,” MountainTrue organizing manager Linda Tatsapaugh wrote. “Over 600 public meetings were held and 1.6 million public comments were received on the rule, with 97% in favor of protecting the last wild areas in America from road building and commercial logging.”
While most Roadless Areas are in the western United States and Alaska, North Carolina has more public land and wild country than most Eastern states. About 15%, or 152,000 acres, of the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests are protected by the Roadless Rule.
“These areas include well-known and beloved places like Cheoah Bald, South Mills River, Laurel Mountain, the Black Mountains, Tusquitee Bald and Upper Wilson Creek,” she wrote.
“Roadless areas provide the best remaining fish and wildlife habitat in the nation, and unique recreational opportunities. Ending the roadless rule is nothing more than a handout to a small group of people that would benefit from logging and mining them.”
Trump administration
The federal government disagrees.
“We are one step closer to common sense management of our national forest lands. Today marks a critical step forward in President (Donald) Trump’s commitment to restoring local decision-making to federal land managers to empower them to do what’s necessary to protect America’s forests and communities from devastating destruction from fires,” Rollins said.
“This administration is dedicated to removing burdensome, outdated, one-size-fits-all regulations that not only put people and livelihoods at risk but also stifle economic growth in rural America. It is vital that we properly manage our federal lands to create healthy, resilient and productive forests for generations to come. We look forward to hearing directly from the people and communities we serve as we work together to implement productive and commonsense policy for forest land management.”
The Forest Service is publishing a notice seeking public comment on its intention to develop an environmental impact statement for the proposed rescission of the rule. The notice details the reasons for rescinding the rule, the potential effects on people and resources, and how national forests and grasslands are managed. The Forest Service published the notice in the Federal Register on Friday.
“For nearly 25 years, the Roadless Rule has frustrated land managers and served as a barrier to action – prohibiting road construction, which has limited wildfire suppression and active forest management,” Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said.
“The forests we know today are not the same as the forests of 2001. They are dangerously overstocked and increasingly threatened by drought, mortality, insect-borne disease and wildfire. It’s time to return land management decisions where they belong – with local Forest Service experts who best understand their forests and communities.
“We encourage participation in the upcoming public process. Your input will help to build a stronger, safer future for our forests and the communities that depend on these forests for jobs, recreation, and clean water,” he said.
While the rescission would apply to roadless areas in Alaska, state-specific rules for Colorado and Idaho, which were part of the Administrative Procedure Act petitions, would not be affected by the proposal.
In total, the 2025 rescission would apply to nearly 45 million acres of the nearly 60 million acres of inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest System.
The proposal aligns with Trump’s Executive Order 14192, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation, to get rid of “overcomplicated, burdensome barriers that hamper American business and innovation.”
It also supports Executive Order 14153, Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential, which directs the Forest Service to exempt the Tongass National Forest from the 2001 Roadless Rule.
The public is invited to comment on the potential effects of the proposal to guide the development of the environmental impact statement no later than Sept. 19. Public comments will be considered during the development of the draft environmental impact statement.
Officials say additional opportunities to comment will occur as the rule-making process continues.
What about wildfire risk?
MountainTrue disputes the Forest Service’s contention that building roads will reduce fire risk and improve firefighting access.
“The truth of the matter is that fire is a crucial part of forest health, and roads bring both more arson fires and more fire suppression,” MountainTrue argued.
“The natural fires that burn in roadless areas maintain and renew the forest and don’t harm communities, which are by definition far from roadless areas. In fact, just 5% of roadless acreage is near human habitation.
“Plus, the Roadless Rule already contains the flexibility to cut trees to reduce wildfire risk and insect outbreaks. The Roadless Rule is working – don’t let oligarchs and bureaucrats take it away,” the nonprofit said.
MountainTrue is urging its followers to take action. The public comment period that opened Aug. 29 ends Friday.
In order to facilitate informed comments on the roadless rule, MountainTrue has developed roadless.org, a comment-writing tool specifically designed to educate about the roadless rule and produce a quick, unique comment that will be persuasive and impactful.
“All you have to do is visit the site, choose between three options for the time you want to spend on commenting and approve the comment that you draft with the help of an assistant, and copy and paste your comment when you are finished,” MountainTrue advised.
Details: Visit roadless.org and usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2025/08/27/secretary-rollins-opens-next-step-roadless-rule-rescission.