The Trump administration’s latest attack on cherished public lands | Opinion

Americans love their public lands. In an era of deeply concerning political fracturing, the values our shared national landscapes and waterways represent are one of the things most people can agree on.

Never was this more apparent than in the fight to prevent the sale of millions of acres of public lands in the budget reconciliation law this past summer: People across the country, regardless of geography or political ideology, made their voices heard and blocked that attempt to sell off our natural heritage.

But that victory wasn’t the end of the fight. Right now, federal officials are working hard to hand over millions of the wildest acres of our national forests to private interests while American families lose access and foot the bill.

This summer, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced plans to revoke the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The name of the policy might not be familiar to you, but the results are: For more than two decades, it has protected nearly 60 million acres of our national forests from industrial development. That means no roads, no logging and no mining.

For more than 20 years, Americans have been able to hike, hunt, fish and camp in the heart of our public lands — often at no charge, and free from the pollution, noise and disruption that comes from industrial development. If the Trump administration gets its way, that could all be lost.

Opponents of the Roadless Rule have suggested that this push to repeal is being done to respond to the wildfire crisis. In reality, however, this “solution” could actually increase threats presented by wildfires. New research shows that wildfires are four times more likely to start in areas developed with roads than in undeveloped, roadless forest tracts. Another study showed that more than 90% of wildfires occurred within half a mile of a road. Even the U.S. Forest Service’s own research has undercut the argument that repealing the roadless rule would have any positive effect on fire management.

Essentially, roads bring development, and wildfires aren’t far behind.

Vastly expanding industrial activities in national forests across the country would destroy invaluable recreation areas, fragment and demolish wildlife habitat and threaten drinking water sources. It could even worsen climate change. Logging most often targets bigger, older trees that absorb and store the most carbon pollution, provide shade for cooler temperatures and are generally more resilient to wildfire.

Since the Roadless Rule was adopted in 2001, corporations have been kept out of these areas, while people have been able to enjoy national forests and the connections to nature they allow. Without the rule, those landscapes are one major step closer to being irreparably damaged. In 2001, more than 600 public hearings were held nationwide over 18 months, and 1.6 million Americans weighed in to call for protection of these forestlands (97% of submitted comments supported the rule). This month, more than 625,000 people contributed to a public comment period on repealing the rule — 99% supported keeping it as it is.

This summer, millions made their voices heard, and the effort to sell off our natural heritage outright was squashed — for now. Currently, however, the administration is taking a new angle and coming after our wildest national forests. We need the public to demand better for our public lands yet again.

Our shared wild places provide wealth and freedom beyond measure. Selling out our last remaining intact landscapes is a mistake we cannot afford.

Alex Craven is Sierra Club’s forest campaign manager.

This story was originally published October 1, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "The Trump administration’s latest attack on cherished public lands | Opinion."