Phil Baker and Neil Young for NYA
The Trump administration wants to open nearly 45 million acres of national forest land to road construction and logging. According to the NY Times, “The proposal by the U.S. Forest Service would repeal the 2001 “roadless rule,” enacted during the Clinton administration to preserve the wild nature of forest land. It comes as President Trump pressures the agency to increase logging and to thin forests to prevent wildfires.”
These are among the last places in America where nature still exists largely on its own terms.
The administration says more roads and logging will improve forest health and help firefighters fight wildfires. We absolutely need to manage forests and protect communities from fire. But that doesn’t mean we need to build roads through so many more areas.
Scientists say roads can increase wildfire risk by bringing more people, equipment and invasive species into previously untouched areas. And the worst fires usually happen near communities and existing roads—not deep in wilderness.
There are better ways to manage forests: controlled burns, selective thinning and creating defensible space around communities. We can reduce fire risk without sacrificing some of America’s last great wild places.
Drew McConville, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal research organization, points out that, “By ripping protections from some of our oldest intact forests, the Trump administration is endangering the drinking water supplies of tens of millions and threatening wildlife habitats and recreation opportunities in almost every state.”
The Tongass National Forest in Alaska is a perfect example. It is the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world. Now nine million acres of its undeveloped land could lose the protections that have kept it wild.
Forests are home to grizzly bears, wolves, elk, salmon and countless other species. They protect the watersheds that provide drinking water to millions of Americans. They store carbon. They give people places to hike, fish, camp and simply experience something that hasn’t been paved, developed or commercialized.
The proposal for this action will be published in the Federal Register in the next few days; public comments can then be filed before the ruling is made final.
Source: Lisa Friedman and Maxine Joselow, “The Trump administration moves to allow logging in pristine national forests.” The New York Times, Aug. 18, 2026.