“Research has found that roughly 90% of all wildfires start within a half-mile of a road”
“separate analysis of four decades of satellite data”
The comment
This proposed rule is unnecessary. The Roadless Rule already explicitly allows the government to manage these places for forest health and fire prevention. Actions like tree cutting and other fuel removal work—and even road construction in cases of imminent fire threat—are allowed. The existing rule also allows habitat restoration and post-fire recovery projects while avoiding unnecessary heavy road construction.
Research has found that roughly 90% of all wildfires start within a half-mile of a road, and that 88% are human-caused—with roads acting as corridors for human error, including accidental sparks, unattended campfires, and other ignition sources that can spark blazes. A separate analysis of four decades of satellite data found that Roadless Areas have not burned at significantly higher rates or severity than roaded forest lands, and that in the most recent decade, roadless areas burned at a slightly lower rate than forests with roads.
That intention of this proposed rule was evident in August 2025, when Secretary Rollins first announced a potential rule rescission. She declared a “timber emergency” and called the Roadless Rule an “absurd” obstacle to common-sense management because it prohibited the Forest Service from fulfilling its mandate to get more “logs on trucks.”
Yet, roadless areas provide clean drinking water to 60 million Americans. And, the outdoor recreation economy generates $730 billion annually, far more than timber sales.