Who’s defending Inventoried Roadless Areas?
National forest in Multiple, 44.7M acres, managed by the U.S. Forest Service, designated in 2001.
The defenders
Nobody has claimed this fight yet
No group in our directory carries Inventoried Roadless Areas in its work yet. That is not the same as nobody fighting: if you know the group that belongs here, tell us and our editors will look at it.
The situation
What’s happening to Inventoried Roadless Areas
For 25 years, the Roadless Rule has kept 44.7 million acres of national forest free from road construction and industrial logging across 39 states. It is the single largest land protection policy in American history. The USDA is now proposing full rescission. A draft EIS and proposed rule are expected in 2026, with a final rule by year-end. If rescinded, every inventoried roadless area in the National Forest System loses its protection simultaneously. 625,957 public comments were submitted in the initial comment period. The Tongass already lost its protections. Every other national forest is next.
- 2001Roadless Rule finalized, protecting 58.5M acres
- 2025Executive order directs Tongass exemption
- 2025USDA publishes notice of intent for full rescission
- 2025625,957 public comments submitted opposing rescission
- 2026Draft EIS and proposed rule expected
- 2026Proposed rescission rule and draft EIS published, 34 day comment period opens
Source: USDA · August 18, 2026
Source: Federal Register · August 29, 2025
No public comment window is open on Inventoried Roadless Areas right now. A call script is ready on the Public Lands Action Network, and the groups above are how the fight gets funded and argued in the meantime.
In the courts
The cases over this place
The dockets we track that name Inventoried Roadless Areas directly. Active first.
Our reporting
What we’ve published on Inventoried Roadless Areas
Your move
How to stand for Inventoried Roadless Areas
Inventoried Roadless Areas has defenders. It needs more.
The work is theirs. The backing is yours.