Protections for 4 million acres of Utah public forests in limbo

SALT LAKE CITY, UT — Today, the USDA announced that it has filed a proposed rule to fully repeal the U.S. Forest Service’s 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The 2001 Roadless Rule protects 45 million acres of national forest lands from roadbuilding and logging, including more than 4 million acres in Utah. 

The Notice of Intent to repeal the rule was announced last August, bringing in over 600,000 public comments, the vast majority of which were opposed to repealing the conservation measure. This final public comment period lasts just 30 days.  

Utah’s roadless areas include some of the state’s most iconic backcountry destinations. These areas protect parts of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache, Dixie, Fish Lake, Manti-La Sal and Ashley national forests — providing refuge for iconic wildlife like mule deer, elk, black bear and wild turkey.    

The release of the DEIS comes while wildfires rage across the country. Repealing protections for our nation’s most intact, backcountry areas is not a wildfire solution. In fact, opening the door for more roads in forests increases the chances of ignition.  

In response to the news, The Wilderness Society’s Utah State Director, Charlie Luke said: 

"It is irresponsible to open 4 million acres of forests to more chances of ignition and fire in the midst of one of Utah's most destructive wildfire seasons. Rolling back the Roadless Rule threatens Utahns clean air and drinking water, wildlife habitat, wildfire resilience, and our freedom to experience public lands that belong to all of us. These are not just losses we will face today but decisions that will shape what future generations inherit." 

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Wildfires are 3x more likely to start near roads in Utah than in roadless forests 

Since last summer, the Trump administration has claimed repealing the Roadless Rule would allow for “fire prevention.” But new research says the opposite. In fact, wildfires in Utah are three times more likely to start near a road than in roadless forests.   

The research examined a large, nationwide dataset to determine whether roads on the national forests are associated with higher ignition risk, and they examined patterns of fire size to see whether wilderness and roadless areas are associated with larger fires. 

The results suggest that building roads into roadless areas is likely to result in more fires. These fires will, on average, be smaller than fires farther from roads, but there will be more of them, and some of them will grow to become large fires. 

According to USDA, the proposed rule will be in the federal register reading room tomorrow and formally published in the Federal Register on Thursday. Public comments will be accepted until midnight on Sept. 21, for only a 30-day comment period. Information will be available Aug. 19 on the Forest Service Roadless Areas webpage. 

For media inquiries, contact Keri Gilliland, senior communications manager at kgilliland@tws.org.