Action Alert: Public Comments Needed to Protect Roadless Forests
This is a call to action for everyone who cares about our public lands.
The Trump administration has officially taken the next step in removing protections for 45 million acres of roadless forests.
They have opened up a legally required public comment period that ends September 19, 2025.
We need to flood the federal register with public comments in support of the Roadless Rule:
Submit Your Comment
In addition, I have included links to sample public comments to help you.
Sample Public Comments
Below, I list examples of public comments to give you some ideas of what to say. As I discover more sample comments, I will expand this list.
Please use the links below to find ideas for talking points. But please customize and personalize your comment to have maximum impact.
- General Focus: Environmental Protection Information Center
- California Focus: Calwild
- New Mexico Focus: New Mexico Wild
- Pacific Northwest Focus: Pacific Northwest Trail Association
- Outdoor Industry Focus: Backpacking Lite
- Hunter / Angler Focus: Backcountry Hunters and Anglers
Roadless Rule - An Overview
The Roadless Rule was adopted in 2001. It prohibits road construction and logging within designated roadless areas of the US Forest System, with limited exceptions.
The rule is extremely important for a few reasons:
Roadless forests are special and uncommon places. They offer unmatched solitude for recreation. They include some of the least disturbed natural areas in the United States. They include old growth forests and habitat for endangered species. They are also uncommon. Over 50% of our national forests are crisscrossed by roads. We can’t afford to lose any more of our remaining roadless areas.
Roads negatively impact forests. Roads fragment wildlife habitat leading to biodiversity loss. They are a vector for invasive species. They cause erosion and pollute waterways. We need to protect the last remaining roadless forests from these negative impacts.
The Trump administration wants roads to open forests to destructive logging. They have made it clear that they want to log the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. The Tongass is the largest temperate rainforest in the world. It includes millions of acres of old growth forest. The Roadless Rule protects the Tongass and other critically important areas.
We have also written an entry about the Roadless Rule in our political tracker: See: Roadless Forest Protection - Rule Rescinded for more information.
How You Can Help:
- Submit Your Comment
- Share this post to spread the word.
The Trump administration can’t just snap its fingers and replace the Roadless Rule with its desired alternative. The law requires that they go through a federal rulemaking process. This includes a public comment period.
Public comments can be a pain in the ass for Trump. The law requires the administration to take the public comments into account in its rulemaking. Completely ignoring the public comments creates vulnerability for the new rule if and when it is challenged in court.
This likely explains why the Trump administration opened the public comment period for only 21 days — compared to the 30 or 60-day standard practice. It also explains why the rule was announced the Friday before Labor Day.
The administration does not want you to submit a public comment. But hopefully you will.