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They cover an area roughly the size of all nine San Francisco Bay Area counties combined, including bay waters.
California's last remaining wild and unprotected national forestlands, totaling about 4.4 million acres, are under a renewed threat from anti-conservation zealots in Congress.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) recently executed a backdoor maneuver to rescind the highly popular and protective Roadless Area Conservation Rule of 2001. His ploy hasn't worked... yet. But his recission measure has now moved a step closer to final passage.
We can and must stop it.
The rule currently safeguards these wooded landscapes for their unparalleled recreation value, wildlife habitat, sequestration of carbon, wildfire moderation, and more. Millions of Americans depend wholly or partly on roadless national forest watersheds for their water supply.
The Lee legislation would throw open some 45 million acres that the rule currently holds as off limits to most roadbuilding, development, and extractive uses such as logging.
Last summer the Trump administration announced it would rescind the rule.
In the extremely narrow 21-day comment period that followed, forest advocacy groups including Forests Forever generated over 625,000 comments on the recission scheme, with 99 percent writing in against it.
If you were one of the Forests Forever commenters or helped last year with a donation during this fight, thank you!
Before the administration's next official step toward recission is announced we have a valuable organizing opportunity—to fight for a highwater bill, the Roadless Area Conservation Act (RACA). It would simply codify the rule's protections once and for all.
Forests Forever played an important part in getting the initial Roadless Rule passed in 2001 when we generated thousands of postcards and letters in favor. Eventually we were a co-plaintiff in a successful 2006 lawsuit that overturned then-Pres. George W. Bush's attempt to repeal the rule.
Scroll to the bottom of this alert to our RESOURCES section for a deeper dive on the Roadless Rule's scope and history.
Our opponents falsely claim that wild forests pose a wildfire risk. In fact, recent research has shown that fires are four times more likely to start near a road than in a roadless area.
The Lee amendment, underway independently from the Trump administration's effort, not only would rescind the Roadless Rule but also would prevent any similar protective regulation from being promulgated ever again.
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Paul Hughes
Executive Director
Forests Forever
 Forests Forever's new Swag Store offers a sizable array of fun items with which you can amplify our message, start a conversation— or just stay warm or hydrated. All carry our distinctive old-growth-forest-and-crescent-moon logo and many have our "Restore, Reinhabit, Re-enchant" motto. Except for our stock of books and bumper stickers all items are strictly printed to order, which means we don't produce and store unsold stock, with its attendant cost and potential waste. So browse our store and wear our logo with pride! All net proceeds benefit Forests Forever and its work to protect and restore California's forests. |
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RESOURCES →
- This very recent study found that wildfire ignitions are much more common near roads than in roadless forestlands.
- Want to know where the inventoried roadless areas are in each state? Here's another fine map resource and website.
- Two leading Roadless Rule champions, Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) recently held a press conference exposing the anti-rule scheme. (Video 28:20)
- A recent article in the Salt Lake Tribune details Sen. Mike Lee's backdoor tactic to attach his Roadless Rule poison pill to what had been a bipartisan wildfire measure.
- In 2025 Forests Forever ramped up its efforts to save the Roadless Rule. We issued this alert, which may help to background you a bit more on the issue, and this alert when the public comment period opened. Be sure to scroll down to RESOURCES at the bottom of each alert for more detail.