Protecting America’s Wild Core: The Case for a Stronger Roadless Rule

The Science, the Stakes, and the Urgent Call to Defend Roadless Wildlands

By John Muir Project, Western Watersheds Project, and Eco-Integrity Alliance

Our National Forest system contains over 58 million acres of roadless wild lands. These areas, rich in biodiversity, are among the last strongholds of wilderness in the lower 48 states. But today, these undeveloped forests face an unprecedented threat: the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on June 23, 2025 it will rescind the “Roadless Rule”.

The Roadless Rule, originally enacted in 2001 under President Clinton, protects millions of acres of these undeveloped forests from road-building, logging, mining, and other extractive activities. It was a landmark effort to preserve clean water, wildlife habitat, and the natural beauty that sustains countless outdoor recreation experiences and cultural values. Still, the rule has loopholes. It allows some logging, grazing, and even motorized recreation that continues to damage these fragile landscapes and harm native wildlife.

Now, over 150 conservation groups, including the John Muir Project, Western Watersheds Project, Eco Advocates NW, and Eco-Integrity Alliance, are urging Congress to do more than just preserve the Roadless Rule. They are calling for a permanent, loophole-free law that will truly protect these wildlands as vital refuges for biodiversity, climate resilience, and clean water.

Why are Roadless Areas So Important?

• Ecological connectivity: Roadless areas buffer and connect our national parks, wilderness areas, and other protected lands, creating vital wildlife corridors and fire-resilient landscapes. Over 61% of these areas lie within 100 meters of existing protected lands, making them critical pieces of the larger conservation puzzle.
• Water quality: They protect high-quality soil and serve as important sources of public drinking water.
• Biodiversity: Roadless lands harbor diverse plant and animal communities, including threatened and endangered species that depend on large, undisturbed habitats.
• Cultural and recreational value: These landscapes hold traditional cultural and spiritual significance and provide places for dispersed, non-motorized recreation.

The Science Debunking Logging, Road-Building, and Grazing as “Fire Solutions”

You’ve probably heard the argument that logging, grazing,and more roads help reduce wildfire risk. Science disagrees.

• Nearly 95% of human-caused wildfires start within half a mile of a road. More roads mean more fires.
• Peer-reviewed studies consistently find that thinning forests or logging in wild backcountry does not protect communities from wildfire.
• The only proven way to save homes and lives is home hardening and creating defensible space up to 100 feet around structures.
• Livestock grazing depletes native grasses and disturbs soils allowing highly-flammable invasive weeds like cheatgrass to take hold.

Instead of opening up roadless areas to risky logging, road construction and more livestock grazing, we need to prioritize protecting these wild ecosystems that store carbon, shelter wildlife, and support natural fire resilience.

Closing Loopholes and Fixing State Rules

The 2001 Roadless Rule still allows timber harvesting, grazing, and some motorized vehicle use. Worse, it contains loopholes that let “forest health treatments” lead to destructive salvage logging after wildfires — harming the very ecosystems that should be recovering naturally.

State-specific “Roadless Rules” in Colorado and Idaho contain major loopholes that permit commercial logging and road-building under the pretext of “wildfire risk reduction”—a practice repeatedly shown by peer-reviewed research to be ineffective at protecting communities and damaging to ecosystems. A single, strong federal standard that closes all loopholes is urgently needed.

What We’re Asking Congress To Do

We’re calling on Congress and the USDA to enact a strong, permanent Roadless Protection Law that will:

• Ban all road construction, logging, grazing, and motorized recreation within inventoried roadless areas.
• Require full environmental reviews with public input on any proposed activities.
• Protect post-fire habitats and fire refugia by prohibiting destructive salvage logging.
• Keep cut trees onsite when removal is necessary to protect wildlife habitat and carbon storage.
• Respect and preserve cultural, spiritual, and traditional tribal uses of these lands.
• Prioritize maintenance of existing roads and decommission unauthorized roads to reduce ecological damage and fire risk.

How You Can Help

This fight isn’t over. Congress needs to hear from voices like yours demanding that roadless wildlands remain wild and protected. Here’s how to get involved:

• Contact your members of Congress and urge them to support strong, loophole-free Roadless Area protections.
• Share this message widely to raise awareness about the importance of America’s roadless wildlands.
• Support grassroot conservation organizations working tirelessly to defend these irreplaceable places.

The Roadless Rule was a critical first step, but the time has come for permanent, robust protections that honor the science, respect natural processes, and safeguard these landscapes for the future. Our public wildlands deserve nothing less.