In a sweeping rollback of longstanding forest protections, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the agency’s intent to eliminate the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, a federal safeguard that has protected 58 million acres of undeveloped national forest lands from roadbuilding and industrial logging for over two decades. The move, announced at a meeting of the Western Governors’ Association this week, threatens vast tracts of public land across the country, including more than 600,000 acres of some of the most remote and ecologically intact landscapes in the Los Padres National Forest.
Los Padres ForestWatch along with a chorus of environmental organizations from around the country condemned the decision as reckless and politically motivated, calling on members of Congress to pass the Roadless Area Conservation Act (H.R. 3930 and S. 2042) to codify these protections into law. The legislation—currently co-sponsored by several Central Coast lawmakers, including Representative Julia Brownley (CA-26), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Representative Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), and Representative Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) as well as Senator Padilla —would make the Roadless Rule permanent and shield national forest lands from future executive action.
“President Trump’s rollback of the Roadless Rule is a dangerous handout to the timber industry and a direct attack on some of our wildest public lands,” said Bryant Baker, Director of Conservation & Research at ForestWatch.
The Roadless Rule was established through one of the most extensive public participation processes in federal rulemaking history, with over 1.5 million comments submitted in support. Since its adoption in 2001, it has withstood numerous legal challenges and remains a cornerstone of national forest conservation, protecting wild landscapes from roadbuilding and associated development such as mining, oil drilling, and industrial logging.
The Los Padres National Forest contains 37 “inventoried roadless areas” (IRAs) totaling 635,106 acres and spanning much of Santa Barbara, Ventura, Kern, San Luis Obispo, and Monterey Counties. Roadless areas in the national forest provide vital habitat for endangered species, safeguard municipal watersheds, support forests that regulate our climate, and offer exceptional opportunities for backcountry recreation—including 349 miles of trails for hiking and other activities.
The Trump administration has falsely claimed that repealing the Roadless Rule is necessary for wildfire prevention and rural economic development—but data show otherwise. More than 371,000 miles of roads already crisscross the national forest system, far beyond what the U.S. Forest Service can afford to maintain as the agency currently faces a nearly $5 billion road and bridge maintenance backlog. And human-caused ignitions have been shown to occur disproportionately closer to roads. Building new roads in remote areas will only increase ignition risks while also fragmenting habitat and draining ever-dwindling agency resources.
“Lawmakers across the country must stand up and defend roadless area protections,” said Baker. “We cannot allow industry interests—disguised as wildfire prevention—to drive the destruction of some of the most cherished portions of our national forests.”
ForestWatch is urging Congress to protect remaining roadless forests by supporting the Roadless Area Conservation Act. Community members can speak out and contact their elected officials through ForestWatch’s campaign page.
Header photo by Bryant Baker depicts an inventoried roadless area in Los Padres National Forest that is proposed to become part of the Sespe Wilderness as part of the Central Coast Heritage Protection Act.