Groups Request Public Comment Period Extension for the Proposed Rollback of the Roadless Rule

Groups Request Public Comment Period Extension for the Proposed Rollback of the Roadless Rule

The Trump Administration has allowed just 32 days for the public to comment on the plan that would open the door to widespread destruction of cherished national forests

Contacts

Elizabeth Manning, Earthjustice, [email protected]

Emily Denny, The Wilderness Society, [email protected]

Adam Rissien, WildEarth Guardians, [email protected]

Zack Porter, Standing Trees, [email protected]

Brian Willis, Sierra Club, [email protected]

Andrew Scibetta, NRDC, [email protected]

Conservation groups are asking the U.S. Forest Service to extend the public comment period on the proposed rescission of the Roadless Rule from 32 days to at least 120 days, as is customary for a decision of this magnitude. In addition, the groups are requesting the Forest Service host public meetings across the county to allow for public testimony. Earthjustice filed the request on behalf of a dozen conservation groups.

The letter states: "Such a short comment period for an environmental analysis and proposed rule of this magnitude and significance is grossly inadequate and should be promptly extended. In addition, public meetings in affected locations should be promptly scheduled."

The only hearings for the proposed rescission currently scheduled are four in-person and virtual subsistence hearings in Alaska, required under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, to evaluate impacts on nearby forest residents who depend on Alaska's roadless areas for hunting, fishing, and gathering of wild foods for food security and maintaining traditional customs. In addition, Alaska's subsistence hearings are occurring after the comment period officially closes. No hearings are scheduled to allow for public input on other uses in Alaska, or on the proposed rescission's impact across the rest of the United States.

Following are statements from some of the groups who requested the extension.

"The USDA is proposing one of the largest rollbacks of public lands protections in a generation. This moment demands a transparent and accessible process, not a rushed timeline that makes it harder for ordinary people to participate," said Josh Hicks, Conservation Campaigns Director at The Wilderness Society. "Extending the comment period is the bare minimum needed to ensure Americans can make their voices heard above the din of the administration's misinformation."

"When the Forest Service created the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, they recognized that a robust public process is foundational for creating good policy," said Alex Craven, Forest Campaign Manager at the Sierra Club. "At that time the agency provided sufficient opportunities and time for Americans to have a say in how tens of millions of acres of our national forests are managed - and the Forest Service listened to that input. Not only is the current administration intent on repealing a popular, commonsense policy, but they're doing so while offering woefully inadequate opportunities for the public to be heard."

"This administration continues to ram through its radical, anti-public lands agenda and it could care less what people have to say about it," said Adam Rissien, rewilding manager with WildEarth Guardians. "Secretary Rollins has already decided that politics is more important than listening to the public, and that is why there have been no community meetings, and ridiculously short windows to provide written comments."

"The Roadless Rule is the most expansive and important conservation measure across New England's White and Green Mountain National Forests," said Zack Porter, Executive Director of Standing Trees. "Since 2001, the Roadless Rule has protected 260,000 acres or one-fifth of New England's National Forests, including irreplaceable, iconic landscapes like New Hampshire's Presidential Range, Franconia Notch, and Mt Chocorua, and Vermont's White Rocks. Such a consequential decision deserves extensive public input; a 30-day comment period isn't enough to ensure adequate public education and participation."

"Public opposition to this plan is overwhelmingly clear, yet now the administration is trying to sprint through the rest of the process before anyone else can weigh in. A rule that took years of hearings and public input to build deserves more than a month of review before it's torn down," said Garett Rose, senior attorney at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council).

"The Trump administration is not affording the public a fair chance to have its voice heard on this massive rollback of environmental protections on our national forests," said Aaron Bloom, Earthjustice Attorney. "The Roadless Rule has long enjoyed bipartisan support and is one of our nation's most important conservation measures to protect wildlife, clean water, hunting, fishing, and recreation and buffer against climate change. The public deserves more time to weigh in on how critical public lands should be managed now and into the future."

Background

Enacted in 2001 with broad bipartisan support, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule protects 45 million acres of national forests. These are among the nation's last-remaining undisturbed wildlands, providing safe habitat for at-risk wildlife, clean drinking water for millions of Americans, and abundant outdoor recreation opportunities across the country.

Before the rule was first enacted in 2001, the Forest Service held 600 public meetings. For the current proposed recission, while the agency has scheduled a small number of legally-required subsistence hearings in Alaska, it has not held any public hearings and none are planned.

Because no meetings were held, some groups have held their own "people's hearings" across the country since the Forest Service announced its rescission proposal about a year ago. Over a thousand people attended more than three dozen meetings across at least 19 states. Nearly all commenters spoke in support of the popular conservation measure.

Before the Roadless Rule was enacted in 2001, the public had a total of 129 days to weigh in, with more comments submitted than any other rule in history to that point. In 2005, during a previous attempt to rescind the rule, the comment period totaled 182 days, including 120 days to comment on the proposed rule and 62 days during an initial comment phase. In contrast, the public now has just 53 days to comment; this includes 21 days during an initial public comment phase that ended in September 2025 and 32 days now for the proposed rule and the draft environmental impact statement.

During the initial public comment period on the current attempt to roll back the rule, the Forest Service received more than 600,000 comments. As the agency now admits, 99 percent of those comments opposed the proposed rescission.

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