We Really Don’t Need More Roads (we can’t even afford the ones we already have)
Since 2001, over 45 million acres of multiple-use National Forest land have been protected from logging and development under the Roadless Rule. But now, these protections are in jeopardy.
What is the Roadless Rule?
In 2001, people from across the country submitted a record-breaking number of public comments, mostly in favor of protecting roadless areas within the National Forest System from new road development and timber harvesting while keeping them accessible for outdoor recreation. In response to this overwhelming public outreach, the Roadless Rule was enacted. Today, the 2001 Roadless Rule protects almost 45 million acres of backcountry forestland, including many of the places where our members ski, ride, snowshoe or just play outdoors.
Roadless areas are multiple-use landscapes that protect watersheds and ecosystems, and support a variety of motorized and non-motorized outdoor recreation and the economies that benefit from this recreation.
Earlier this summer, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced plans to rescind the Roadless Rule, which would open up some of our favorite places to backcountry ski, snowshoe, and spend time in wild snowscapes to logging and road construction.
The proposed rescission of the 2001 Roadless Rule is supposedly intended to support wildfire prevention and commercial timber production. However, fire suppression activities are already allowed in roadless areas and have been successful. Additionally, roads are known to increase wildfire ignition risk. Between 1992 and 2024, wildfires were four times as likely to start in areas with roads than in roadless forest tracks. And, across the country, over 90% of all wildfires occurred within a half mile of a road. So, building roads in roadless areas is likely to result in more fires. While we support responsible wildfire management, rescinding the Roadless Rule is not the way to do it.
Roads can also be costly. The Forest Service already has more than 365,000 miles of roads. These roads are vital to supporting outdoor recreation, agriculture, and other land uses, but come at an environmental cost. The 2005 Travel Management Rule helped develop a road management strategy across the Forest Service system in a way that balances environmental protection, financial sustainability, and public needs. However, funding for these existing roads has declined in recent decades and there is a multi-billion dollar road maintenance backlog for existing roads. Winter Wildlands Alliance supports collaborative travel planning processes under the Travel Management Rule to effectively manage existing Forest Service roads while minimizing environmental impact using science-based analysis, rather than rescinding the Roadless Rule to construct new roads that will be expensive and increase the burden of transportation management on the Forest Service network.
Rescinding the Roadless Rule represents a broader attempt to erode protections for our public lands and national forests. It is tied to recent efforts to sell off our public lands, dismantle our public land management agencies, like the Forest Service, and remove opportunities for public participation in decision-making processes that impact our shared landscapes by weakening the National Environmental Policy Act. At Winter Wildlands Alliance, we remain committed to protecting backcountry winter recreation and wild snowscapes. Public lands, and the processes, agencies, and people who are crucial to the management and protection of public lands are vital to our work and our community. The Roadless Rule is an important tool for preserving the winter backcountry and protecting the integrity of our national forest system, and we need you to join us in defending it.
What Rescission of the Roadless Rule Could Mean For Ski Zones
For the past 25 years, Winter Wildlands Alliance has been dedicated to protecting our country’s wild snowscapes. Rescission of the Roadless Rule is very likely to lead to development of wildlands and to limit public access to the places we love. Below, some members of our community highlight backcountry recreation spots that are protected under the Roadless Rule.
Sherwins Range, Mammoth Lakes, CA
The Sherwins is a renowned, undeveloped frontcountry ski and snowboard area accessible right from the Town of Mammoth. You can see the ski lines from the grocery store parking lot. The zone was proposed for development as a commercial ski area in the 1950s and was formally designated for study as a winter sports site in 1967. In 1991, the Forest Service rejected a proposal to develop a lift-served commercial ski resort in the Sherwins, in part due to overwhelming opposition from both the community and the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Sherwins Meadow is a popular and easily-accessible area for walking, Nordic skiing, snowshoeing and family snowplay along the base of the mountains. Popular ski and snowboard lines in this roadless area include the Hose, the Finger Chutes, Rock Chute, Bardini, Solitude Canyon and Banana Chute. The whole zone is protected under the 2001 Roadless Rule.
Photo credit: Joel Rathje
“There’s a lot of dead whitebark pine up there. Without Roadless protections, I don’t think it’s far-fetched to imagine a fuels-reduction contractor getting permission to bulldoze some new roads and then Big Conglomerate Ski Resort Company swooping in with commercial development plans: hotels, condo resorts, a gondola, a roller coaster, a zipline, a mountaintop restaurant overlooking the John Muir Wilderness. I say no thanks, let backcountry skiers and mountain bikers do the fuels-reduction work without bulldozers! Keep it wild. Keep it Roadless!”
-David Page, Winter Wildlands Alliance Executive Director
Tahoe, CA
“Rescinding the roadless rule would be incredibly detrimental to backcountry enthusiasts and the general pursuit of experiencing the outdoors as they were meant to be. Part of the draw of backcountry skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing and cross country skiing is “getting away from it all” and with the possible removal of the Roadless Rule, Tahoe Backcountry Alliance (TBA) is concerned about the potential influx of roads and logging in areas where they frankly just don’t belong. This includes parts of the Lake Tahoe Basin, but we’re even more concerned about parts of the El Dorado and Toiyabe Forests that don’t have the additional layer of protection that the Tahoe Basin has.”
Anthony Cupaiuolo, Tahoe Backcountry Alliance Executive Director
Days Fork, Central Wasatch, Utah
Home to popular local ski lines like Benson and Hedges and Jaws, Days Fork is a drainage in the Central Wasatch. In the late 1800s, Days Fork was primarily a site for mine prospecting. Over time, mining and lumbering across the Cottonwood Canyons gave way to a focus on developing these areas for recreation. Today, Days Fork is protected under the 2001 Roadless Rule. Accessible via Big or Little Cottonwood canyon, this area draws backcountry skiers, snowboarders, and snowshoers all winter long. Additionally, there are groomed Nordic ski trails around Spruces Campground on the Big Cottonwood Canyon side of Days Fork.
“In early March 2024, I spent a full day skiing laps in Days Fork with some of my closest ski partners. We had fresh turns on every lap. It was some of the deepest powder I’ve ever skied and I’ll never forget how quiet the mountain range felt that day with so much fresh snow.”
Anneka Williams, Winter Wildlands Alliance Policy Director
Central Wasatch, UT
“Thanks to Utah’s quality of snow, ease of access, and proximity to a major population center, the Central Wasatch offers a variety of very popular backcountry spots. The “Dawn Patrol” thrives in the Wasatch. For those who aren’t familiar, a Dawn Patrol is when you wake up super early, tour up a mountain and watch the sunrise, then ski down untracked powder all before clocking into work in the morning. You often see countless headlamps bobbing around the mountains on any given morning, which speaks to the popularity of backcountry recreation in the Wasatch.
If we lose the Roadless Rule, an alarming amount of our local backcountry would be at risk – from serious alpine terrain in White Pine, Mineral Fork, and Raymond to more mellow zones like Mill D North, Beartrap and the Willows.
Like many, the Wasatch is where I learned to backcountry ski. I’m giddy when I click my boots into their bindings in the dark at the trailhead, my headlamp illuminating the way. I’m enamored by the first hues of pink alpenglow creeping their way down the mountains as the sun rises. And I know that there’s no better way to start your day than with a powder run in the Wasatch before work!
Speak up to protect our local backcountry!”
Dani Poirier, Wasatch Backcountry Alliance Director
Glory Bowl, WY
“Oh, Glory! The Glory boot pack from the top of Teton Pass and the world-renowned ski terrain it takes you to is no secret. In fact, it is a local celebrity. As my first ever backcountry ski, I may be a little biased, but it is one of my favorites places to ski in all of the Tetons. In an hour you are at the top, with skiing in all directions. I had no idea it was protected as an Inventoried Roadless Area until the USDA announced their plan to rescind the Roadless Rule. I’ve added Glory to my list of reasons this rescission is a bad idea.”
Peggie dePasquale, Wyoming Wilderness Association
What Comes Next?
The Roadless Rule was developed with extensive public input. When the Rule was first drafted, the Forest Service held more than 600 public hearings nationwide and received more than 1.6 million public comments—more than 95% of which were in support of protecting roadless areas. This support remains strong today, across both rural and urban areas and we need to continue showing that support for the backcountry forestlands we love.
The USDA will be accepting public comments until September 19, 2025. Winter Wildlands Alliance urges you to show your support for the 2001 Roadless Rule and the backcountry recreation it protects. Please use our quick and easy form to send a message to your lawmakers. Feel free to use our suggested language or customize it to fit your concerns!
Winter Wildlands Alliance is drafting our comment letter right now and, by filling out the form below, we’ll also add your name to our comment letter.
You can also submit unique comments through Regulations.gov (docket number FS-2025-0001) or directly on the Federal Register using the green “Submit A Comment” button. In your own comment, consider including and elaborating on the following points:
- New roads could increase wildfire risk. The Forest Service is already $8 billion behind on road maintenance, so building new roads would increase the backlog and increase the risk of wildfire ignition. Between 1992 and 2024, wildfires were four times as likely to start in areas with roads than in roadless forest tracks. We don’t need to rescind the Roadless Rule to fight fires. We need resources and staffing for our ranger districts so they can continue efforts to mitigate wildfires.
- Roadless areas provide world-class outdoor recreation opportunities. Rescission of the Roadless Rule could threaten outdoor recreation across the country in all seasons. Use the Outdoor Alliance map to explore your favorite roadless areas. This is a great chance to highlight areas that are meaningful to you that could be impacted.
- The integrity of our national forest system. The Roadless Rule helps protect millions of acres of backcountry forests across the country. This is an important safeguard for watersheds, wildlife habitat, and other important ecosystem services.
- Outdoor Recreation is important to local economies. Recreation on roadless areas supports local, recreation-based economies across the country and protects taxpayers from the billions of dollars of road maintenance backlog.
- Millions of people supported the Roadless Rule in 2001. The Roadless Rule was created based on enormous public support. We need to honor this support by upholding the 2001 Roadless Rule.
After this public comment period, the USDA will then develop a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which is expected to be finished by March 2026 along with a request for additional public comment. The final rule, EIS, and record of decision are anticipated by late 2026.
Colorado and Idaho are unique in that they have implemented state-specific Roadless Rules, with Colorado’s finalized in 2012 and Idaho’s in 2008, and will not be impacted by the proposed repeal. Even with state-specific protections in place, the federal Roadless Rule has provided an extra layer of defense for Colorado and Idaho’s roadless areas. Without the federal rule’s more stringent protection, state-specific rules may become more vulnerable to changes over time that favor development over conservation and recreation.
