The Roadless Area Conservation Rule was enacted in 2001. It protects undeveloped National Forest lands from new road construction — and, by extension, from logging, leasing, and industrial development. It was passed after 1.6 million public comments, 95% of which were in support. For 25 years it has safeguarded wildlife habitat, drinking water for millions of Americans, and access to recreational landscapes. In the summer of 2025, the USDA announced plans to rescind it, opening 45 million acres of protected land to development. Katie Johnson of the Conservation Alliance joins The Parks Podcast to explain what’s happening and what each of us can do.
A note from Missy: I’m so grateful to Katie for coming on and helping explain what the Roadless Rule is and how it impacts the rest of us. The domino effect of conservation efforts is so important — and it’s why we need to fight to protect it, even if it’s not in our back yard.
Episode Guest
Katie Johnson, Campaigns & Engagement Manager
The Conservation Alliance
What is the Roadless Rule
The Roadless Area Conservation Rule (enacted 2001) designates Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs) on National Forest Service lands and prevents new road construction in those areas — and consequently prevents logging, leasing, and other industrial development. The rule covers nearly 50 million acres across all 50 states, including North Carolina, West Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, and other eastern states — not just the West.
Why it matters:
- Protects wildlife habitat — intact, connected landscapes are critical for all species
- Protects water quality — prevents erosion and sedimentation in sensitive watersheds
- Protects drinking water for millions of Americans
- Enables backcountry recreation — hunting, fishing, hiking, backpacking
- Already flexible — existing rules allow emergency fire access and other necessary uses
Show Notes & Links
Episode Transcript
Understanding the Roadless Rule — 50 Million Acres and a 21-Day Window to Act
The Parks Podcast, Episode 37 | Katie Johnson, Campaigns & Engagement Manager, Conservation Alliance
Note: This episode was recorded during a 21-day public comment period on the proposed rescission of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. That comment period has since closed. The Conservation Alliance continues to advocate for the protection of inventoried roadless areas — visit their website and social channels for current updates.
What Is the Roadless Rule?
Missy Rentz: Today we have Katie Johnson, who is the Campaign and Engagement Manager for the Conservation Alliance. Katie is joining me to talk about something that is impacting all of us in America right now — which is the Roadless Rule. Katie, thanks for joining for this quick conversation to help educate us and get us all moving to advocate for the Roadless Rule.
Katie Johnson: Thanks for having me, Missy. I’m excited to chat about it.
Missy: Okay. First — if you’re on socials or you’re into parks or outdoor spaces, you have likely heard about the Roadless Rule, but maybe don’t know what it is. So first, what is the Roadless Rule?
Katie: Yeah, it’s a great question and something that you’ve probably seen pop up in your algorithm in the last couple of months. The Roadless Rule was enacted in 2001, and it was enacted to protect undeveloped Forest Service land from additional roads and consequently logging, leasing, road development, and other industrial development. It’s a really popular policy — one of the most celebrated of America’s conservation measures, especially over the last 25 years. For the last 25 years it’s protected wildlife habitat, safeguarded drinking water for millions of Americans, and ensured access to recreational landscapes, among many other things. An important note is that it’s generally known for its flexibility while still providing meaningful protection. So if there are existing roads that need to be accessed for fire or other emergency services, the rule is pretty flexible in that way. So it’s already encompassing some of the things that we’re hearing in terms of why the USDA is looking to roll this back.
Missy: And just to break it down from what I’m hearing you say — it’s a fairly simple rule of saying, if you can’t build a road here, you can’t ruin the public land around it.
Katie: Right, exactly. So it protects those contiguous tracts of land. And these Inventoried Roadless Areas, or IRAs, span across the country — they are in a lot of states. We think a lot about the West Coast states that have a lot of these areas, but they’re also in North Carolina and some of our East Coast states too. There are roadless areas and roadless spaces across the country, so this is really an issue and a conversation that is being had across all 50 states right now.
Why Do They Want to Roll It Back?
Missy: Why do they want to roll it back?
Katie: So they’re looking to roll it back for a number of reasons. Right now we’re in the middle of a comment period that is allowing them to gather public feedback on why they’re looking to roll it back — and how they would potentially move forward with either rescinding it or adjusting it. There are a couple different factors, including potentially wildfire management, timber, other extractive industries and their involvement in this space. But as I mentioned, there is already flexibility within the existing rule that accounts for some of those things. And that’s why the Conservation Alliance is advocating to protect the Roadless Rule and keep it in place and keep allowing it to do what it’s continued to do for 25 years.
Missy: To me, it feels like by rolling it back, it’s another loophole to get to developing public lands. And we’ve already fought against this and had some great wins over the summer — but it’s just another way for a certain contingent to attack our public lands.
Katie: Yeah. And when we talk about the public comment process, it feels like a very bureaucratic process. But the reason that the Conservation Alliance — and there are many other organizations as well — are encouraging people to comment is because these decisions around federal land management policy, the public does have a say. And the public’s comments and the public’s voice do have weight in the process. So the more people that submit authentic comments about why these places are important to them and what they’ve meant to them, the better.
Why This Matters to You — Even If You’ve Never Been There
Missy: Tell me why this matters to every American — whether you’re someone who recreates in the outdoors or not.
Katie: Yeah, that’s a really great point. These areas are not just recreation areas — they serve critical ecological functions. As I mentioned, clean water is one of the biggest ones. Many communities across the country get their drinking water from watersheds that run through these inventoried roadless areas. So there are 60 million Americans that drink water from these areas. Forest health, wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration — these are all things that these forested roadless areas provide. So even if you’ve never been to one of these places and you haven’t camped in them or recreated in them, they are still serving a critical function for you. These areas are connected to every American.
Missy: It’s like when they started removing wolves from Yellowstone and then put them back and the ripple effect of what the presence or absence of wolves meant to everything else in Yellowstone. You don’t have to be a wolf advocate — a road in the middle of a roadless area has a ripple effect on other things.
Katie: Yes, exactly. The ecosystem services and the overall health of these forested systems can’t be understated. These areas provide incredible resilience and redundancy in these systems to be able to withstand pressures and perturbations. And the more we fragment these areas, the more vulnerable they are.
How to Take Action — The Comment Period
Missy: So what can we do? What are the actions that you’re asking people to take right now?
Katie: Right now, the most important thing you can do is submit a public comment in support of the Roadless Rule. You can go to regulations.gov and search for the Roadless Rule — you’ll find the open docket there and submit your comment directly through that system. The Conservation Alliance has also built a grassroots comment platform so that it’s really easy and straightforward to fill out your information and submit a comment. If you go to our website and social channels, you’ll be able to find that link to make it even easier to submit your public comment. The comment period closes in 21 days from when this episode airs, so please do it soon — there’s not a lot of time.
Missy: It takes maybe 10 minutes. All they need is a reason — it doesn’t have to be this full-page advocacy letter. It’s just your voice, saying I care about this.
Katie: Exactly. Authentic comments about why these places are important to you — that’s what they need to hear from the public. It could be three sentences. It could be a page. It doesn’t matter the length. What matters is that it’s authentic and it’s coming from you. Whether you’re a hunter, a hiker, a fisherman, a skier, or just someone who cares about clean water — that’s your voice to add to this process.
What Happens After the Comment Period
Missy: After the comment period, should we still be writing and calling our representatives, or is that out of date? What is the next step?
Katie: Great question. From the Conservation Alliance perspective, after the comment period closes we’re going to really focus on storytelling from these different inventoried roadless areas across the country. How do outdoor athletes, creators, and businesses benefit from and utilize these spaces? And why are they meaningful to those folks? And why would it be critical for these to stay protected versus having these protections rolled back? We’re really focusing on super powerful storytelling and highlights of what these spaces have meant and what they’ll continue to mean when they stay protected.
Missy: Follow the Conservation Alliance to hear those stories. The Parks Podcast will post links to their page so that people can send letters during this open comment period. But do take time in the next 10 days to send that letter and to make sure that your voice is heard. Help protect our public lands by expressing our dissatisfaction with rolling back Roadless Rules.
Katie: Yeah. And showcasing why these landscapes are important to you and what they’ve meant to you and what they’ll continue to mean to you — it’s critical right now, more than ever.
Missy: Katie, I’m really grateful to you. Thank you for helping to educate me and our listeners during this really crazy time, and I hope that maybe during this process there may be time for us to have another conversation to continue educating everybody on what is going on.
Katie: Yeah, it’s a very nuanced and very specific conversation, and we’re always happy to highlight more details. One more note that’s important to share — this is the first step of a multi-step process. Submitting our comments is a great first step, but we can’t then be caught on our heels for the next phase. So whether that’s storytelling or waiting for the next comment period, which we’re expecting in about six months, this will be a multi-step process. Continuing to stay engaged, continuing to stay informed and updated on what’s going on will be critical.
Missy: Perfect. Thank you for talking to us today. I really appreciate it.
Katie: Yeah, thanks for having me.
Missy: That’s it for this quick episode of The Parks Podcast. Until next time — we’ll see you in the parks.
Music for The Parks Podcast is performed and produced by Porter Hardy. Follow us @TheParksPodcast or visit TheParksPodcast.com.