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The next step toward stripping protections from 45 million acres of America's last wild national forest lands has just been taken by the Trump administration.
We spoke out forcefully last summer when the first round of public comment on this rollback was opened up: We submitted over 600,000 comments—99 percent of them opposed to recission of the protective Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
If you were one of the Forests Forever supporters who submitted a comment or made a donation last fall, thank you!
Deadline for public comments is Sept. 20—only a few weeks away—so it is urgent that you send in your comment today!
In California, roadless areas protected by the rule cover some 4.4 million acres. That's roughly equivalent to all nine San Francisco Bay Area counties, including bay waters.
A recent study showed that roadless areas provide the drinking water for 25 million Americans.
Unlogged forestland reduces wildfire risk and hazard by keeping microclimates relatively cool and moist. Research has shown that wildfires are four times more frequent near roads, versus deeper into the forest.
Scroll to the RESOURCES section at the bottom of this alert for much more on the popular and effective Roadless Rule.
Forests Forever played a key role in the Roadless Rule fight from its beginning when we generated thousands of letters and postcards in support of the rule in 2001. We were one of the co-plaintiffs in a successful 2006 lawsuit that overturned the Bush repeal.
Every American has a stake in this fight. We've saved the roadless rule before and we can do it again, but to do so we need your help. Send in your comment today!
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Paul Hughes
Executive Director
Forests Forever
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RESOURCES →
- An excellent resource for viewing the roadless areas under threat is the U.S. Forest Service's inventory of roadless areas by state and click on "California."
- Here is another in an array of outstanding interactive maps that let you explore Roadless Rule-protected forests near you.
- Taking the offensive on saving wild forests, we support the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2025— H.R. 3930 and its Senate companion S.2042. This would simply codify the rule's protections.
- This recent study details the importance of Roadless Rule watersheds to the American drinking water supply.
- Forests Forever's latest previous eAlert on the Roadless Rules recission effort appeared 7/13/26.