Trout Unlimited president Chris Wood testified before the House Committee on Natural Resources on Thursday, May 21, against rescinding the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The hearing came as the U.S. Department of Agriculture moves through the rulemaking process on H.R. 7695, with a final decision expected by the end of 2026. USDA had previously announced its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement associated with rescinding the Roadless Rule, but a draft EIS had not yet been made available at the time of publication.
Wood’s argument focused on what the rule actually prohibits. “The only thing that is prohibited is the construction of new roads,” he told the committee, pointing to a $6 to $7 billion maintenance backlog on the Forest Service’s existing 370,000 miles of road. Wood argued the Roadless Rule supports healthy land management and pointed again to Forest Service data showing fuel-management activity has been more frequent in roadless areas. “Trout Unlimited supports the objectives of improving forest health and reducing unnaturally intense wildfire risk; however, these are outcomes best achieved by working together through the existing regulatory framework.”
Cold water for native trout, salmon
Of the 58.5 million acres covered by the Roadless Rule, the current rescission proposal applies to roughly 45 million. Trout Unlimited estimates that roughly 70% of the acreage covered by the proposal serves as habitat for native trout or salmon, including cutthroat waters in the northern Rockies, bull trout habitat in Idaho and Montana, and native steelhead waters in the Pacific Northwest. Wood also tied fisheries back to local economies, saying roadless protections support healthy water and communities together. “Roadless areas supply the cold clean water that drive anglers from all over the world to support local economies in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, whose Gold Medal and Blue-Ribbon streams depend on them.” As previously reported by MidCurrent, the Roadless Rule was designed in part to keep road construction out of the drainages where undisturbed forest soils filter and cool water before it reaches rivers.
The timeline as it stands
USDA initiated the rescission in June 2025 and opened a public comment period that closed in September 2025. The agency’s next listed step for H.R. 7695 reads as “Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.” A final rule and record of decision are expected later in 2026.
Anglers who want to track the process can follow the docket at regulations.gov (docket FS-2025-0001) and sign up for Forest Service updates at fs.usda.gov.
