Roadless areas in our National Forests are some of the last truly wild places left in America and some of the most important habitat we have left for wolves, grizzly bears, and other carnivores that need room to roam, den, and recover.
Now the Trump administration wants to tear that protection down.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has proposed rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule entirely, opening millions acres of undeveloped national forest to road building, logging, and industrial development. For nearly 25 years, this rule has kept bulldozers and chainsaws out of the wildest parts of our National Forest System and has kept these lands connected enough for wide-ranging carnivores to actually survive in them.
If roads are developed, they will fragment habitat, they will give poachers, bear baiters, trophy hunters and more access to wildlife who would otherwise be safe in the backcountry.
The public comment period is open now through September 21, 2026. Last time the Forest Service tried this, 183,000 Americans weighed in and 99% opposed. Let’s make sure they hear from us again.
Add your name to Project Coyote’s official comment to the Forest Service now!
After you sign on, you will be automatically redirected to the Forest Service’s comment portal directly where you can copy and paste the below comment to submit your own comments.
Comment:
I’m writing to oppose the proposed rescission of the 2001 Roadless Rule. This rule protects 58.5 million acres of our National Forest System from road building, large-scale logging, and industrial development — habitat that wildlife, including wolves, grizzly bears, and other carnivores, depend on to survive and recover.
Roadless areas are not “off-limits” or “unproductive,” as this proposal claims. They are functioning ecosystems that protect clean drinking water, store carbon, and give wide-ranging species the connected, undisturbed habitat they need. Building roads into these areas doesn’t just fragment that habitat — it opens the door to poaching, bear baiting, and unregulated predator killing in places that have been safe for a generation.
I urge the Forest Service to withdraw this proposal and keep the Roadless Rule fully in place.
