On Monday, US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced that the USDA is rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule, which is the rule that shut down logging in Alaska.
In a move cheered by rural communities, foresters, and fire prevention experts across the West, Rollins made the announcement during a meeting of the Western Governors’ Association in New Mexico, lifted the rule that has hampered responsible forest management on nearly 59 million acres of national forest land.
Rollins called the rule “overly restrictive” and a major roadblock to the USDA Forest Service’s core mission of sustaining the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands.
Rollins said the decision is in line with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14192, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation, which directs federal agencies to cut red tape that stifles innovation, local governance, and economic growth.
Rollins noted that the roadless rule has hampered efforts to thin fire-prone landscapes, restricted local access to resources, and blocked job-creating projects in forestry and timber production. The impacts have been especially harsh in western states, where enormous swaths of forestland have been locked away from management tools like fire breaks, fuel removal, and road access.
In Alaska, the Roadless Rule locked up over 92% of the Tongass National Forest.
In Utah, nearly 60% of all Forest Service land was designated “roadless,” making proactive wildfire prevention efforts all but impossible across large portions of the state. In Montana, 58% of national forest acreage was restricted.
“This is another example of President Trump fulfilling his campaign promises to open up resources for responsible development. We thank the President and Secretary of Agriculture Rollins for continuing the process of rolling back unnecessary regulations that stifle economic activity and sends opportunity overseas where there are less environmental protections, such as we have here in Alaska. Thank you, President Trump and Secretary Rollins,” said Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
Congressman Nick Begich noted, “Today’s decision by the USDA to rescind the deeply flawed and outdated Roadless Rule is yet another a major victory for Alaska. Alaska’s forests are one of our state’s greatest natural assets and the “Roadless Rule” has long stifled responsible forest management, blocked access to critical resources, and halted economic opportunity
particularly in Alaska, where 92% of the Tongass National Forest was off-limits. The Roadless Rule was never about responsible conservation; it was about bureaucratic overreach that undermined the ability of local forest managers and communities to effectively manage their lands. I commend Secretary Rollins and President Trump for their leadership in advancing this commonsense reform.”
Sen. Dan Sullivan said, “I welcome the decision by Secretary Rollins and President Trump to rescind the Roadless Rule and allow for proper management of US Forest System lands in Alaska. Since 2001, this rule has hindered Alaskan’s ability to responsibly harvest timber, develop minerals, connect communities, or build energy projects at lower costs — including renewable energy projects like hydropower, which are especially critical to economic opportunities in Southeast Alaska surrounded by the Tongass National Forest. I am grateful that the Trump administration has once again rescinded this rule to put Alaskans back in the driver’s seat to make a living, support our families, and connect our communities while protecting our lands and growing our economy.”
“Once again, President Trump is removing absurd obstacles to common sense management of our natural resources,” Rollins said. “This move opens a new era of consistency and sustainability for our nation’s forests.”
The original 2001 Roadless Rule prohibited road construction, reconstruction, and timber harvest in designated areas. But forestry. managers have long said it ignored the on-the-ground realities of forest management, especially in fire-prone areas. Today, 28 million acres of the land previously covered under the rule are categorized as high or very high risk of wildfire.
With the rule now rescinded, land managers will have more authority and flexibility to manage fire risk, improve access for emergency response, and support sustainable timber harvesting. Importantly, this shift re-centers decision-making with those who know the land best — local and regional Forest Service officials working directly with community stakeholders.
The change also promises a boost to rural economies, such as that in Southeast Alaska, that have long borne the brunt of Washington’s forest restrictions. Utah officials estimate that the Roadless Rule alone has caused a 25% decrease in forestry-sector development in their state.
The USDA’s decision marks a return to proactive land stewardship and local control, two principles that Western leaders and rural communities have championed for years.
This is great news! Thanks to all the officials for doing the right thing!
You mean to tell us that the bushes could have done this years ago our senators could have pushed for this and never did it’s to bad that a lot of good people have died and never got to see this problem fixed. I guess it means we sent a lot of worthless republicans to washington
Makes one wonder the utility of Daddy’s Little Princess? For the senior legislator – representative, how come she can’t achieve these dynamic successes like Trump does? What use is she to Alaska and Alaskans? Or, are her ‘supposed’ achievements listed within her soon to be released book? Maybe(?), we just needed to elect a new President to help formulate a much more advantageous future for AK907? I surmise that we don’t need her anymore, and we would be better served with someone else as our Senator to accompany Sully and NB3 … maybe // hopefully that Kelly-T in 2028!!!
Rob. “how come she can’t achieve these dynamic successes like Trump does?” It’s because Lisa respects the law.
You’re funny when you radical leftists deny reality.
Lisa Murkowski is an anti-Alaskan and anti-American traitor, who fully deserves the fate usually reserved for all traitors. Were she to be killed by a car or in a plane crash tomorrow, I could do nothing but celebrate.
MM has apparently graduated from trolling on AlaskaWatchman to deign to tell us, the ignorant MRAK participant masses, how stupid and wrong we are and spew out covertly and overtly hostile criticisms of MRAK contributors. Previous “course work” includes: attacking and disparaging people for their faith;
blasting out logical fallacies including faulty generalizations, questionable causes, and relevance fallacies, with MM’s favorites being the appeal to authority and the argument from incredulity;
fealty to credentialism (especially MM’s own);
grossly confusing science with scientism (the Lewisian definition) which is especially hypocritical considering MM’s overt critical, disapproving, cynical, and disparaging views regarding everybody else’s faith; need I go on?
That’s silly. Lisa is in a position to make law.
It was a USDA policy, not a law. Laws get passed by Congress.
Do better.
Alaska is being readied to enter and benefit from the “Golden Age”
This biggest hurdle to overcome is the stranglehold of the CCP enacted by their maoist ‘environment’ and ‘native’ proxies through criminal and financial entanglement with state agencies like ADNR, ADEC and compromised politicians who are married to C-Suite acolytes in BSNC, Kawerak, native ‘villages’ and protected by lawfare practitioners like EarthJustice.
Lots of good news today. Looks like the LNG projects are underway and now the lock box on our public lands is being softened. This is what prosperity is and benefitting the American people so we’re not importing everything.
Pebble mine next?
It’s almost like I’ve taken a nap and all this awesomeness has occurred in a dream. Did Lisa the Loser oppose this rule on the basis of “good public policy?”
I wonder if it will stick this time, third times a charm right? The 2003 exemption was overturned as was the 2019 exemption, maybe by scrapping the entire rule we don’t need to worry about exemptions that kept getting overturned.
Can we build the damn road now?
No!
We need more studies!
YEARS and YEARS of study! By dispassionate ‘experts’ and bureaucrats.
Are you one of those infrastructure insurrectionists?
How many sawmills are still open and ready to process timber? How many lumber jacks remain to do this work? There will be a ramp up period before we do anything but ship log rafts to the PNW and Japan.
Don’t get me wrong: This is good news. However, the community-wide devastation already happened.
These environmental groups need to be treated as terrorists which they certainly are. They are responsible for millions of acres of burned up timber.
Long overdue.
Just in time for Trump to tariff Canadian lumber to the moon