Southwestern Montana impacted in the proposed Roadless Rule repeal

The Roadless Rule — officially known as the Roadless Area Conservation Rule — is a United States Forest Service (USFS) policy that currently protects 6.4 million acres of forest in Montana, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

On Aug. 18, the USDA announced a proposal for the full repeal of the rule.

As a result, several areas of previously protected Southwestern Montana land — including a wildlife migration corridor in the Western side of the Bridgers, 844,000 acres across the Custer Gallatin National Forest, sections of the Crazies and Madison as well as much of the Tobacco Root Mountains — could be impacted by the repeal reported by the USDA. Further, many local trail systems, climbing routes and streams could be threatened if the ruling is repealed. 

According to the USDA, the Roadless Rule was instated in 2001. Then, during the initial public comment period, 1.6 million Americans wrote in. 95 percent were in favor of the new rule, according to EarthJustice, a nonprofit public-interest environmental law organization. 

EarthJustice also reported that since its creation, the rule has been heavily debated and many states and local entities have requested for repeals. In Sept. 2025, the initial intent to rescind the Roadless Rule was revealed.  

Hilary Eisen is the federal policy director for Wild Montana. Founded in 1958, Wild Montana is the oldest conservation organization in the state. “The Forest Service has been [fiscally] starved for a very long time,” she said.

According to her, the inadequate financial support has led to a shortage of necessary experts, scientists and employees. Eisen shared that this concern was only amplified in the current reorganization process of the USFS under President Donald Trump’s administration. 

“We've lost a lot of institutional knowledge,” she said. “And there's nobody 10 years from now, 15 years from now — like you've lost a whole generation of people who might work in the agency in the future.  

“Congress has systematically underfunded that agency for decades and decades and decades,” Eisen said.   

In an Aug. 18 press release from the USDA, Deputy Secretary Stephen A. Vaden said that one reason for the repeal includes a need for more access to the large forested areas. The press release also said that the rescission helps the Executive Order 14225 Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production and Executive Order 14192 Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation. 

Those in favor of rescinding argue that more road systems provide increased opportunities to proactively prepare for forest fires and beetle kill while simultaneously increasing recreation opportunities. 

One organization that supports rescinding the rule is the Montana Logging Association. In a statement on Sept. 1 the organization said “removing the 25-year-old restriction is necessary to restore forest health, safety and resilience across millions of federal acres in Montana.” 

Further, they claim that physical access via roads is critical not only for science-based hazardous fuels reduction and thinning treatments, but also for allowing heavy equipment and firefighting crews to safely and efficiently suppress fires. 

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte and Sen. Steve Daines are in support of the repeal. Other organizations in support of the repeal include the Blue Ribbon Coalition, a motorized sports outdoor recreation group and the American Forest Resource Counsel.  

Nick Smith is the public affairs director for the AFRC. The organization completes active forest management in the Northwest United States including parts of Western Montana. In an interview on Sept. 3, Smith mentioned criticism of the current one size fits all aspect of the rule.  

He said that the rule does not currently meet unique regional needs. He also said that forests would still be protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  

Eisen warned that the ESA doesn’t protect endangered species enough anymore after federal regulators made changes to the definition of harm. “This summer the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) changed their definition, and now the definition of harm is simply you cannot outright kill the animal,” Eisen said. The USFS also uses the same definition as the FWS. For example, habitat degradation is no longer forbidden.

Barb Cestero is the Montana state director of The Wilderness Society. The society's mission lies in uniting people to protect America’s wild places. “There's nothing about the Roadless Rule that stops the Forest Service from fire suppression activities and things they need to do to suppress and mitigate a fire that is posing a risk to private land or other important values,” Cestero said.  

“We're investing a lot of time and energy into making sure that Montanans have an opportunity to speak up and speak out about their public lands,” Cestero said. 

Public comment on the proposed repeal is open until Sept. 21. To learn more and comment, visit www.regulations.gov/document/FS-2025-0001-223869.