We invite your organization to join us in urging Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to go beyond simply reinstating the weakened Roadless Rule rescinded this summer. Instead, we must push for stronger, loophole-free legislation that permanently protects inventoried roadless areas from logging, road construction, livestock grazing, and other extractive activities.
In June 2025, the Trump administration rescinded the 2001 Roadless Rule, removing critical protections from approximately 59 million acres of national forest lands. Since then, efforts have emerged in Congress to codify protections through the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2025 (H.R. 3930 / S. 2042). However, codifying the existing Rule without addressing its loopholes risks locking in policies that allow harmful logging, road-building, and grazing under the guise of “restoration” or wildfire mitigation.
Last Congress, many of us raised serious concerns about these very issues and issued red lines around the bill’s current language, emphasizing the need for stronger safeguards. That moment demonstrated our shared commitment to ensuring roadless areas receive real, lasting protections—and that commitment remains critical today.
This is a pivotal moment. We have a rare opportunity not just to restore what was lost, but to do better—to secure lasting, meaningful protections that reflect what science, biodiversity, and the climate crisis demand. Roadless areas deserve more than a return to the status quo; they deserve a bold step forward.
Inventoried roadless areas are vital ecological connectors that buffer and link National Parks, Wilderness Areas, and other conservation lands. Weakening protections in these areas threatens not only their integrity but also the resilience of the broader conservation landscape.
Our letter calls for legislation that:
- Permanently prohibits logging, road construction, grazing, and other extractive activities in inventoried roadless areas;
- Closes loopholes in state and federal “Roadless Rules” that permit logging and road-building purportedly for wildfire mitigation;
- Prioritizes maintenance of existing classified roads and the decommissioning of unauthorized roads;
- Ensures these irreplaceable ecosystems remain intact as vital carbon sinks, biodiversity refuges, and sources of clean water.
If your organization is interested, we also welcome your participation in future advocacy meetings with congressional offices to advance these protections.
You can review the full letter and add your organization’s name here: Fortify Roadless Protections: Stronger Than the Rule, Permanent in Law
Let’s seize this moment to move beyond simply defending what we’ve lost and instead fight for the future these wild places truly deserve.
Thank you for your commitment to protecting our nation’s wild lands.
Eco-Integrity Alliance 