The Trump administration has proposed rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule, which restricts road-building, road maintenance and commercial logging in designated undeveloped national forest areas. Critics warn that removing these protections could fragment habitats, damage forest ecosystems and threaten water supplies, particularly in places such as Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. The proposal matters because roadless areas are among the last large US landscapes largely free from roads and support wildlife, recreation and environmental resilience.

The rule covers more than 58 million acres of national forest land, though Idaho and Colorado operate separate state-specific protections; roadless areas exist in 38 states and Puerto Rico. The administration says lifting the restrictions on nearly 59 million acres would promote economic development, while a separate congressional amendment could also prevent the Forest Service from restoring the rule later. A 30-day public-comment period will begin after the formal proposal is published in the Federal Register.