News Updates - Roadless Rule Defense

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Comprehensive Coverage Analysis

Analysis of major news outlets covering the rescission process from June 2025 through 2026.

Roundup of Recent News, PDF for download

Compiled coverage of the rescission process and the public response.

Special Reports

The Wildfire Justification Falls Apart

NEW

Aplet 2026 (Fire Ecology), Balch 2017 (PNAS), Bradley 2016, Johnston 2021 — and the Schultz/WUI ninefold exaggeration. The empirical case that the rescission's wildfire rationale is wrong.

Drinking Water for 124 Million Americans

NEW

DellaSala 2011, the 850%-erosion finding, Salem and Seattle municipal case studies. The economic and public-health case for keeping forests intact.

The Real Motivation: Timber, Energy, and Minerals

NEW

USDA's own Federal Register notice, EOs 14192/14225/14154, and the December 2025 OMB deregulation push. What the rescission is actually for.

What 600,000 Comments Tell Us

NEW

The 2025 comment-period results, the >99.8% roadless.org analysis, Pew February 2026 polling (76% support), and the S.2042/H.R.3930 cosponsor counts.

Climate and Carbon Impacts

NEW

Peng 2023 (Nature), Harris 2016, Lloyd 2013, DellaSala 2022. Wood harvest as a global-scale carbon source — and what repealing the Roadless Rule means for the U.S. carbon ledger.

In the News

NEW

USDA Prioritizing Common Sense Forest Management, Moves Forest Service Headquarters to Salt Lake City

USDA (March 31, 2026)

NEW

An Update on the 'Roadless Rule': USDA Intends to Repeal Widely Supported National Forest Policy

The Pew Charitable Trusts (February 18, 2026)

NEW

A Nation Without the Roadless Rule? New USA Map Tools Show the Stakes for Wildlife

Defenders of Wildlife (February 23, 2026)

NEW

Three-Decade Record of Contiguous-U.S. National Forest Wildfires Indicates Increased Density of Ignitions Near Roads

Fire Ecology (Aplet, Hartger & Dietz) (2026)

Secretary Rollins Opens Next Step in the Roadless Rule Rescission

USDA (August 27, 2025)

Trump administration moves to remove Roadless Rule protecting national forests...

Anchorage Daily News (August 27, 2025)

Trump administration presses rollback of 'Roadless Rule' on wild lands

Yahoo News/LA Times (August 27, 2025)

Comment period set to open on ending 'roadless rule' on wildland areas

Santa Fe New Mexican (August 27, 2025)

Secretary Rollins Rescinds Roadless Rule, Eliminating Impediment to Responsible Forest Management

USDA (June 23, 2025)

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Strong Support for Secretary Rollins' Rescission of Roadless Rule…

USDA (June 24, 2025)

ICYMI: Secretary Rollins Op-Ed in Deseret News on Repealing Roadless Rule

USDA (June 25, 2025)

Trump administration to open undeveloped forests to mining, logging

Reuters (June 23, 2025)

Trump administration plans to rescind rule blocking logging on national forest lands

AP (June 23, 2025)

Trump to strip protections from millions of acres of national forests

Washington Post (June 23, 2025)

Trump rescinds protections on 59m acres of national forest to allow logging

The Guardian (June 24, 2025)

The US is stripping its forests of decades-old protections

The Verge (June 24, 2025)

Media Alert

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