Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
The Roadless Rule is a topic of much debate at the moment. In place since 2001, The Roadless Rule is the main administrative mechanism through which the United States Forest Service manages over 58 million acres of roadless National Forests. The rule has been contentious and controversial since it was first implemented, and has been the subject of much Judicial, Congressional, and Executive scrutiny, usually with the aim of rescinding the rule altogether. However, the Forest Service has been managing roadless areas on National Forests since the 1920s, and efforts to rescind the rule ignore not only this history, but the many benefits that roadless areas provide. In this video, we run through the history, administration, controversies, and misconceptions surrounding the 2001 Roadless Rule, and I give you the tools you need to craft a public comment in support of the Rule during the official rulemaking process, which ends on Friday, September 19th, 2025.
Leave your public comment here: federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/29/2025-16581/special-areas-roadless-area-conservation-national-forest-system-lands?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/c/nationalparkdiaries
Follow me on Instagram: instagram.com/nationalparkdiaries
Follow me on Threads: threads.com/@nationalparkdiaries
Sources and Resources:
Montana Free Press Coverage: montanafreepress.org/2025/06/24/trump-to-rescind-roadless-rule-ending-protections-for-58-million-acres-nationwide/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Roadless Areas Acreage by State: fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsm8_037652.htm
Congressional Research Report on Roadless Rule: everycrsreport.com/files/2020-08-28_R46504_9d75076220e5be2a4cf8eb648b2ad45170701dde.pdf
Statistics on Wildfires and Roads:
fs.usda.gov/rds/archive/catalog/RDS-2013-0009.6
Information on National Forests and Drinking Water: fs.usda.gov/managing-land/national-forests-grasslands/water-facts
Tongass National Forest Carbon Storage: ktoo.org/2021/04/01/tongass-holds-more-than-40-of-all-carbon-stored-by-national-forests
Economic Benefits of Roadless Areas: sierraforestlegacy.org/Resources/Conservation/FireForestEcology/ForestEconomics/Economics-Loomis00.pdf
Images and Music:
Storyblocks
USFS
The Roadless Rule is a topic of much debate at the moment. In place since 2001, The Roadless Rule is the main administrative mechanism through which the United States Forest Service manages over 58 million acres of roadless National Forests. The rule has been contentious and controversial since it was first implemented, and has been the subject of much Judicial, Congressional, and Executive scrutiny, usually with the aim of rescinding the rule altogether. However, the Forest Service has been managing roadless areas on National Forests since the 1920s, and efforts to rescind the rule ignore not only this history, but the many benefits that roadless areas provide. In this video, we run through the history, administration, controversies, and misconceptions surrounding the 2001 Roadless Rule, and I give you the tools you need to craft a public comment in support of the Rule during the official rulemaking process, which ends on Friday, September 19th, 2025.
Leave your public comment here: federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/29/2025-16581/special-areas-roadless-area-conservation-national-forest-system-lands?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/c/nationalparkdiaries
Follow me on Instagram: instagram.com/nationalparkdiaries
Follow me on Threads: threads.com/@nationalparkdiaries
Sources and Resources:
Montana Free Press Coverage: montanafreepress.org/2025/06/24/trump-to-rescind-roadless-rule-ending-protections-for-58-million-acres-nationwide/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Roadless Areas Acreage by State: fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsm8_037652.htm
Congressional Research Report on Roadless Rule: everycrsreport.com/files/2020-08-28_R46504_9d75076220e5be2a4cf8eb648b2ad45170701dde.pdf
Statistics on Wildfires and Roads:
fs.usda.gov/rds/archive/catalog/RDS-2013-0009.6
Information on National Forests and Drinking Water: fs.usda.gov/managing-land/national-forests-grasslands/water-facts
Tongass National Forest Carbon Storage: ktoo.org/2021/04/01/tongass-holds-more-than-40-of-all-carbon-stored-by-national-forests
Economic Benefits of Roadless Areas: sierraforestlegacy.org/Resources/Conservation/FireForestEcology/ForestEconomics/Economics-Loomis00.pdf
Images and Music:
Storyblocks
USFS
