On May 21, the House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Federal Lands, held a legislative hearing on seven public lands bills, including one to repeal the Roadless Rule—which has significant implications for taxpayers and was a focus of the hearing discussion.

The 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule prohibits road construction, road reconstruction, and timber harvesting in 44.7 million acres of inventoried roadless areas in the National Forest System. H.R. 7695, introduced by Rep. Hageman (R-WY), would rescind the rule. The Forest Service also proposed recission in June 2025 and issued a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement last August. U.S. Forest Service Deputy Chief Chris French told the committee that the agency anticipates issuing a final rule and draft environmental impact statement within the next month.

During the hearing, some lawmakers and witnesses maintained the policy is critical to safeguarding “44 million acres of the most pristine and treasured forests across our nation,” which protect wildlife habitat, watersheds, and recreation opportunities, including hunting, angling, and hiking. One witness, Chris Wood of Trout Unlimited, testified, citing a recent report from his organization, that roadless areas are home to 88% of Bonneville cutthroat trout in Utah and 93% of elk summer range in Nevada.

Improved recreation opportunities, water quality, disaster risk reduction, and even aesthetic value can provide quantifiable economic benefits for local communities. One report noted during the hearing found that that 30 million acres of roadless areas generate $24 billion in benefits each year.

The Roadless Rule also protects against wildfire risk and its associated costs. As committee members and witnesses highlighted, wildfire science consistently shows that human activity is the leading cause of wildfire ignitions, and roads increase human access. Mr. Wood testified that “85% of all wildfires are caused by people, and 78% of them start within a half a mile of a road.” Deputy Chief French corroborated the claim, stating that “it’s been a longstanding fact that, if you look at the point of ignition for wildfires, most are human-caused and most are going to be associated where humans go, including roads.” He added, however, that this was only part of “the whole scenario” to consider.

The Roadless Rule has not prevented wildfire mitigation activities. The rule includes exemptions allowing road construction and other actions when necessary to protect public health and safety from imminent wildfire threats. As Mr. Wood testified, “roadless areas represent 21% of the total tree cover of the national forest system, but account for 34% of the total fuel treatment areas.” For example, in 2023, the Forest Service approved all 59 proposed projects in Tongass inventoried roadless areas, most within one month. Deputy Chief French told the committee that nearly 75% of treatments in roadless areas are managed, naturally caused fires and 25% are prescribed fires. Beneficial fire has long been recognized as a proven, low-cost strategy to reduce risk and restore forest health.

The Roadless Rule also protects taxpayers from shouldering the high costs of building and maintaining roads in the Forest Service system. As Deputy Chief French told the committee, the USFS total deferred maintenance backlog exceeds $10 billion and “the road piece of that is somewhere around $7 to $8 billion.” Adding new roads without dedicated funding would only deepen this backlog and divert resources from higher-priority needs.

TCS has long supported the Roadless Rule. Rescinding it would expose taxpayers to billions in new liabilities from subsidized roads, money-losing timber sales, increased wildfire risks, and harm to our forest health.