U.S. flag

NOT an official website of the United States government, obviously...

Dot gov

This isn’t .gov.
Real federal websites use .gov or .mil. This one doesn’t — it’s built by Bentley, while awesome, he is not the government.

SSL

The site is secure.
The https:// shows your connection here is encrypted, but remember — this project is not associated with the U.S. Government.

Protect the Last Wild Forests

The Trump administration wants to repeal the 2001 Roadless Rule — opening 58 million acres of national forests to new roads and logging.

Calling more roads a safety plan is backwards.

Add Your Comment Share This

Why this matters

  • 58 million acres at risk. The Roadless Rule keeps most remaining wild forests free of new road-building [1].
  • Roads = damage. They fragment habitat, muddy streams, and raise human-caused wildfire ignitions [2].
  • We already have roads to fix. The Forest Service is $8.4B+ behind on 370,000 miles of existing roads [3].
  • Communities pay. New roads shift costs to taxpayers and undercut clean water & climate resilience [4].

See sources

Roadless Rule 101

What it is

The Roadless Rule (2001) protects the largest remaining undeveloped parts of our national forests by allowing no new roads and no industrial logging. It applies to about 58.2–59 million acres — roughly 30% of U.S. Forest Service lands [1].

What’s the new proposal?

USDA, under Trump and Burgum, has proposed to rescind the Roadless Rule nationwide (FS-2025-0001-0001), opening tens of millions of acres to new roads, logging, and mining [5][6]. The agency frames this as “fire prevention,” but most human-caused ignitions occur near roads [2].

Is the rule “too restrictive”?
  • Emergency access is allowed. Temporary lines/roads can be used for imminent public-safety needs (e.g., fires) [11].
  • Effective fuel work happens near people. Focus mitigation in the WUI and around communities, not remote backcountry [9].

Wildfire reality: roads cause ignitions

Most wildfires in the U.S. are human-caused — and they cluster near roads and the wildland–urban interface (WUI). Adding new roads into undeveloped backcountry increases ignition risk. Protected national forest areas without roads already have some of the lowest ignition densities outside of designated wilderness [2]. Logging roads also leave behind flammable slash and dense plantations that worsen fire conditions [4].

Receipts

  • Ignition density is highest within ~50m of roads; undeveloped areas are among the lowest [2].
  • Peer-reviewed studies confirm that human ignitions track closely with road density and WUI [2].
  • The rule already allows emergency fire actions. We don’t need more roads to fight fires — we need fewer sparks [11].

TikTok idea: Fire map with the caption “fires hug roads”. Overlay: Myth vs. Data. CTA: “Comment link in bio.”

Water & wildlife: roads cut habitat and pollute streams

Habitat fragmentation

New roads break large forest areas into smaller pieces. This creates “edge effects,” increases wildlife–vehicle collisions, spreads invasive species, and opens predator corridors. Many species — from bears to martens to amphibians — depend on wide, unbroken habitat to survive [4].

Clean water & fish

Logging roads wash sediment into rivers and streams, smothering spawning beds. Poorly built culverts block salmon and trout from reaching miles of habitat. Protecting undeveloped headwaters safeguards drinking water for communities and keeps fisheries healthy [8].

Bottom line: Fewer roads mean cleaner water, healthier fish, and intact wildlife habitat. It’s that simple.

Follow the money: taxpayers already fund 370,000 miles of Forest Service roads

The Forest Service road system is enormous — and crumbling. Maintenance backlog: $8–$8.5 billion. Repeal would add even more miles of roads that taxpayers, not timber companies, would have to maintain. That’s a subsidy, not “common-sense management” [10].

  • We already can’t afford it

    More roads mean more floods, landslides, failed culverts, and costly repairs. Taxpayers pick up the tab every time [3].

  • Tourism & fishing beat short-term logging

    In places like Alaska’s Tongass, jobs in tourism and fishing far outweigh timber. Protecting intact forests sustains long-term local economies [6].

TikTok idea: Use the caption “We have roads at home.” Show 370,000 miles → $8.5B backlog → “and they want more?”

Quick talk tracks: posts, calls, testimony

🔥 Keep it simple

  • Protecting forests saves money, water, wildlife, and carbon. Repeal sacrifices all four.
  • Most wildfires start near roads. Opening new ones only adds risk [2].

  • Taxpayers shouldn’t subsidize corporate clear-cuts with public roads.
  • Science and public opinion backed protections in 2001 — and still do today [7].
For our friends running the AltPark Service accounts

Thor(ish) Person: shirt clinging, skin glistening after a dip in a glacier stream 🫦❄️
You: zooming in, double-tapping like your life depends on it 👀🔥
Us: realizing Trump’s repeal means bulldozers carving roads through 58M acres of untouched wildlands 🌲🪓
And then what? Salmon runs collapse. Streams choke with mud. Fire risk skyrockets. Taxpayers stuck with the bill 💸.
Wild forests are the real thirst trap — once you lose them, they don’t come back. Keep them wild, keep them sexy. [11]

I don't know how to do thirst traps, 🤷🏻 -- Bentley

Need Video Ideas?

Hook templates

  • They want YOU to pay to bulldoze wildlife habitat. Here’s how.
  • Wildfires hug roads. So why add roads?
  • 370,000 miles of broken roads... and they want more?
  • Roadless forests already lets firefighters in. The repeal is about logging trucks.

Overlay captions (keep on screen)

  • 59M acres at risk — FS-2025-0001-0001
  • Highest fire ignitions: near roads
  • $8.4–8.5B road backlog”
  • Headwaters protected by the Roadless Rule

Tell the Forest Service: keep roads out of our roadless forests

Your comment doesn’t have to be long. Say who you are, why you care (water, fish, hunting, hiking, climate, tribal rights), and cite one or two facts below. Then hit submit.

Comment on FS-2025-0001-0001 now

Pro tip: paste a couple citations in your comment for extra credibility.

Primary sources & reporting

  1. Federal Register notice opening the rescission — Federal Register
  2. Road–fire data: ignition density highest near roads; roadless lowest — Earthjustice (PDF) · Narayanaraj & Wimberly 2012
  3. USFS road system scale & backlog context — Yale E360
  4. Habitat & wildlife impacts of roads — FHWA · Barrientos et al. 2021
  5. USDA press releases on rescission (June 23, 2025; Aug 27, 2025) — USDA (6/23) · USDA (8/27)
  6. Washington Post coverage (June 23, 2025) — Washington Post
  7. USFS Tongass protections reinstated (Jan 25, 2023) — USDA
  8. Streams & culverts: fish passage impacts & restoration — Alaska Public Media · Kenai Watershed Forum
  9. Utah context explainer: ignitions near roads, timber upside small — Axios SLC
  10. Quick action brief: maintenance backlog (~$8.5B; 370k miles) — Glacier–Two Medicine Alliance
  11. Reuters summary of rescission & reactions — Reuters