Trump administration advances plan to open national forests to development

The Trump administration is moving to rescind the Roadless Rule, which has barred road construction and logging on nearly 45 million acres of national forest for 25 years. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says the rule causes overgrown, fire-prone forests, and Montana Governor Greg Gianforte praised the move as empowering local management.

But more than 30 forest science researchers wrote last fall that wildfire ignition density was actually lowest in wilderness and roadless areas over three decades of Forest Service data, with the highest ignition rates near roads — and federal data shows most wildfires are human-caused. The rule currently protects about 6 million acres in Montana and nearly 10 million across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, habitat conservationists say is critical for grizzly bears, elk, and trout.

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