CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Trump’s Move to Rescind Roadless Rule Rewards Logging and Mining Interests

Industrial clearcutting in the Oregon Coast Range. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair.

Last week, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brook L. Rollins moved forward on the agency’s promise to revoke the 2001 Roadless Rule, opening a public comment period on the proposal and a draft environmental statement on its impact. If this sounds familiar, that’s because we covered this almost a year ago during the scoping process.

So what’s changed, and what hasn’t?

First, it’s important to understand what the Roadless Rule does. Enacted at the end of the Clinton administration, the rule prohibits road construction, road reconstruction, and timber harvesting on 58.5 million acres of roadless areas within the National Forests. The environmental impact statement at the time argued that protecting these areas would maintain sources of clean drinking water for nearby communities, support habitats for native plant and animal species, and conserve biological diversity.

Since its passage, the rule has faced legal pushback from states and corporations, including mining and logging interests. And since 2001, some states have established their own regulations. More than 9 million acres in Idaho and over 4 million acres in Colorado are exempt from the rule because the states have passed specific legislation that supersedes the federal regulations. The state rules, however, protect some areas while opening up others to expanding recreation, like skiing, and logging and mining activities.

In June 2025, the USDA announced it would begin the process of........

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