Trump Seeks to Undo Landmark Protections for America's Last Wild Forests

Nearly 25 years after the Clinton administration enacted a landmark rule protecting America's last untouched forests, the Trump administration is now moving to undo this landmark environmental safeguard. In 1999, then-President Clinton designated 58 million acres of pristine national forests as "roadless areas," banning new roads, drilling, and other disturbances in these ecologically vital landscapes.

However, as of October 2025, the Trump administration is seeking to rescind this roadless rule, a move that could soon see chainsaws and logging trucks invading these previously protected wilderness areas. The administration claims the rule is an "absurd obstacle" to development, with the Secretary of Agriculture calling it "overly restrictive."

Conservationists warn that revoking the roadless rule would be disastrous, as these untouched forests play a crucial role in filtering drinking water for millions of Americans and providing habitat for hundreds of threatened species. The old-growth trees in these areas also act as a vast carbon sink, helping to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Despite the administration's push to increase logging on federal lands, experts argue that the roadless areas are some of the most ecologically valuable and economically important parts of the national forest system, generating revenue through recreation, tourism, and ecosystem services rather than just timber harvesting. With the Forest Service already struggling to maintain its existing 370,000 miles of roads, the costs of building new logging routes through these remote, rugged areas could prove prohibitive.

As the Trump administration races to undo the roadless rule before the end of its term, conservationists are bracing for a potential onslaught on America's last wild forests. The future of these pristine landscapes, which have stood untouched for centuries, now hangs in the balance.