Protecting Wild Land

In recent months, the U.S. government has moved aggressively to repeal the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, a decision that will harm ecosystems, clean water, and wildlife.

On June 23, 2025, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the USDA has plans moving in legislation to rescind the Roadless Rule, which currently restricts building new roads, reconstruction, and large-scale logging across nearly 60 million acres of national forests and grasslands. According to Rollins and agency officials, removing the rule will empower local forest managers, improve wildfire control, and restore economic opportunity in rural regions. However, there are still many problems with these beliefs. Experts such as environmental groups like Earthjustice, National Wildlife Federation, and The Wilderness Society, conservation scientists, and forest safety analysts warn that repealing the rule is a mistake, as the forests where roads are projected to be built supply clean drinking water, provide critical habitats, maintain carbon sinks protecting the atmosphere from excessive CO2, and protect cultural lands.

The National Wildlife Federation notes that over 450 threatened and endangered species depend on roadless lands and that removing protections threatens ecosystem life and migration, which sends ripple effects across the natural world. It is also argued that road building can raise forest fragmentation, create an influx of invasive species, cause erosion, and increase wildfire risk, which is the opposite of what supporters of this change claimed.

In August 2025, the USDA opened a public comment period to develop an environmental impact statement for the proposed repeal. The comment deadline was September 19, 2025. In the short 21 days this engagement window was open, it received over 1.6 million public comments, where nearly 99% of the responses seem decisively against the new repeal. The National Wildlife Federation says that more than 36,000 members and allies have asked the USDA to maintain the rule. At the same time, environmental groups, including Defenders of Wildlife and Earthjustice, have threatened legal challenges should the administration push to appeal forward. This sentiment is backed by many state and local governments, who fear the environmental impacts of this repeal.

Rolling back protections provided by the Roadless Rule ignores decades of scientific consensus, undermines climate goals, and threatens health for future and current generations. The fight now moves into the public's hands, and for those who value California and the United States’ forests for more than timber, this moment is critical.  The survival of the Roadless Rule will determine the fate of millions of acres of American wild lands.

However, we Carondelet and De La Salle students can make a real difference in protecting roadless areas. Start by learning more about the forest in our state, and sharing what you learn with friends and family on social media. Keeping up-to-date with the Carondelet Green Team and other local environmental groups can help you stay informed. You can also write our representatives in Congress or submit a public comment to the USDA opposing the repeal of the road. Even small actions like reducing paper waste or supporting conservation groups show decision makers that this generation cares deeply for our Earth. Your voice matters, and it can help, so let’s keep America’s wild places wild.

Environmental Accounts to Follow on Instagram