The 2001 Roadless Rule is being rescinded. Here's what's at stake and how to speak up.

On August 20, 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Forest Service formally proposed rescinding the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule — the regulation that has prohibited new road construction, road reconstruction, and most timber harvesting across inventoried roadless areas (IRAs) on National Forest System land for a quarter century. The proposal was published in the Federal Register and opened a public comment window running through late September 2026.

The USDA frames the change as a wildfire-risk and forest-health measure, arguing that removing roadless restrictions gives local land managers more flexibility for vegetation treatment, fuel reduction, and access. The proposal would hand roadless-area decisions back to individual national forests through their local land management plans, rather than a single nationwide rule — and it leaves the state-specific rules already in place for Idaho and Colorado untouched.

Opponents — including conservation groups, hunting and fishing organizations, outdoor recreation businesses, and more than a hundred tribal governments — argue the rule change opens roadless backcountry to new logging and road-building with far weaker environmental review, fragmenting wildlife habitat and watersheds that the original rule was written to protect. The original 2001 rule remains one of the most heavily commented-on regulations in U.S. history, drawing over 1.6 million public comments, more than 90% in favor of the protections.

Timeline

• 2001Clinton-era USDA finalizes the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, protecting ~58.5 million acres nationwide from new road construction and most logging.
• Aug 29, 2025USDA publishes an advance notice signaling intent to rescind the rule and opens an initial comment period.
• Aug 18–20, 2026USDA/Forest Service formally proposes rescission in the Federal Register under docket FS-2025-0001 (RIN 0596-AD66); a new ~30-day comment period opens.
• Sept 20–21, 2026Public comment period closes.
• After closingUSDA reviews comments and may issue a final rule; legal challenges from states and conservation groups are widely expected.

Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs) are official Forest Service polygons drawn during the original 2001 rulemaking. Oregon contains roughly 212 mapped IRAs; Washington contains roughly 139. Use these tools to see exactly which forests and drainages near you would lose protection.

Washington, forest by forest

The statewide PDF above shows the whole state at once; these are the same official Forest Service maps zoomed in to each national forest, useful once you've spotted the area you care about.

National forests with roadless land in Oregon & Washington

• Mt. Hood NF (OR)
• Willamette NF (OR)
• Wallowa-Whitman NF (OR)
• Umatilla NF (OR)
• Deschutes NF (OR)
• Siuslaw NF (OR)
• Rogue River-Siskiyou NF (OR)
• Umpqua NF (OR)
• Malheur NF (OR)
• Fremont-Winema NF (OR)
• Ochoco NF (OR)
• Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie NF (WA)
• Okanogan NF (WA)
• Wenatchee NF (WA)
• Colville NF (WA)
• Gifford Pinchot NF (WA)
• Olympic NF (WA)
• Umatilla NF (WA portion)
• Idaho Panhandle NF (WA portion)

Use the interactive maps and statewide/forest PDFs above for exact boundaries; this list is a starting reference, not a complete inventory.

1. Go to the official docket on Regulations.gov

   Docket ID FS-2025-0001 (RIN 0596-AD66), "Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation." Use the direct comment-submission link below, or search the docket number on Regulations.gov.

   Submit online →

2. Write in your own words

   Form-letter comments are counted, but individualized comments carry more weight in the administrative record and are harder to dismiss as duplicates. Say who you are (Oregon/Washington resident, hunter, angler, hiker, business owner, parent, etc.) and why roadless land near you matters.

3. Be specific about place and impact

   Naming a specific roadless area, trailhead, watershed, or national forest you use is more persuasive than a general statement. Consider addressing: wildlife habitat and migration corridors, drinking-water and salmon-bearing watersheds, wildfire and forest-resilience science, backcountry recreation and hunting access, and loss of environmental review under a rescinded rule.

4. Use a template if you need a starting point

   Several conservation organizations (see below) publish draft comment templates and one-click action pages — useful as a starting point, but strongest when you personalize at least a few sentences before submitting.

5. No internet access? Mail a hard copy

   Director, Ecosystem Management Coordination
   USDA Forest Service
   201 14th Street SW, Mailstop 1108
   Washington, DC 20250-1124

6. Also contact your members of Congress

   Public comments go into the rulemaking record; a call or letter to your U.S. Senators and Representative adds political pressure outside the formal process, and several groups below offer combined comment + Congress action pages.

These groups are actively campaigning against the rollback, publishing comment templates, or coordinating opposition specific to Oregon and Washington.

This is not an exhaustive list. Many local watershed councils, hunting/angling groups (e.g., regional chapters of Trout Unlimited and Backcountry Hunters & Anglers), and land trusts across Oregon and Washington are also weighing in — check for a chapter near you.