Yesterday, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the agency’s intent to rescind the Roadless Rule, which would be a devastating blow to America’s backcountry public lands and the millions of people who rely on them for outdoor recreation, clean air and water, and climate resilience.

The Forest Service Roadless Rule protects 58 million acres of National Forests across the country through provisions that protect recreation access and allow for necessary active management. These flexible protections are critically important in the face of a changing climate and changing demands on our public lands, and these landscapes—spanning 42 states—include some of the most iconic and well-loved places for climbing, hiking, backcountry skiing, mountain biking, and paddling. Undoing this foundational conservation measure opens the door to unnecessary road construction, logging, and development that threatens both the outdoor experiences people treasure and the economic value of recreation in rural communities.

According to maps from Outdoor Alliance’s GIS Lab, roadless areas protect more than 58 million acres, including 11,337 climbing routes and boulder problems, more than 1,000 whitewater paddling runs, 43,826 miles of trail, and 20,298 mountain biking trails.

“Roadless areas on our country’s National Forests comprise some of the most outstanding outdoor recreation areas anywhere,” said Louis Geltman, Vice President of Policy and Government Relations at Outdoor Alliance. “These are the landscapes where adventure is really possible and where you can go to truly be in awe of our National Forests. Attempting to roll back the Roadless Rule would be a short-sighted, and deeply unpopular assault on America’s public lands values.”

Rescinding the Roadless Rule will require a full rulemaking process, and we will use that process to help educate the administration about the importance of the Roadless Rule for protecting backcountry recreation and conservation values. In 2019 and 2020, efforts to undermine the Utah and Alaska Roadless Rules were met with resistance from the outdoor community, and ultimately were not successful. At the time it was signed, the Roadless Rule was the most popular, and most commented-on, rule in our country’s history.

You can use the form below to tell your lawmakers why the Roadless Rule is important for outdoor recreation. Outdoor Alliance will track the USDA’s efforts to roll back the rule and will provide updates on how you can be involved to defend backcountry recreation.

USDA Plans to Rescind the Roadless Rule, Putting Backcountry Recreation at Risk