With less than 30 days left, conservation groups are requesting the government extend the public comment period for its proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
Earthjustice filed the request on behalf of several environmental groups, including the Wilderness Society, the Sierra Club and others. The nonprofit says rescinding the landmark rule affects 45 million acres of national forest land — largely in the West — across 38 states.
Aaron Bloom, a senior attorney with Earthjustice, says there are no public hearings scheduled, except in Alaska. He says people should be able to weigh in on a decision of this magnitude.
"We are asking for public hearings throughout the country in accessible locations, so that the public that's impacted by this rule can show up and have their voices heard," he said.
Before the rule was enacted, Bloom points out, the federal government held hundreds of public hearings throughout the country. According to the Center for Economic and Policy Institute, the two-year period of public comment was unprecedented.
Currently, the public comment deadline is Sept. 21.
In its letter to the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Earthjustice requests extending the public comment period to at least 120 days to increase the opportunities for the public to weigh in on the proposed rescission. The organization has not heard a response from the government. The departments also did not respond to a request for comment from the Mountain West News Bureau on Thursday.
"They have said nothing about that; when initially enacting the rule and adding additional protections, they held 600 public hearings across the country," Bloom said.
The Bush Administration proposed scrapping the Roadless Rule in 2005, during which time there were two public comment periods, both more than 100 days. In a timeline published online, Earthjustice also intervened then, saying the Bush administration's attempt to replace the Roadless Rule with a new state-centered version violated the Endangered Species Act and other provisions.
Then, 146 members of Congress introduced legislation to reinstate the original Roadless Rule and repeal the Bush administration's substitute. This was followed by a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of California and New Mexico and the governor of Oregon, also challenging the new version. More lawsuits followed throughout 2006. By the fall of 2006, a federal judge ordered the reinstatement of the Clinton-era Roadless Rule.
The Department of Agriculture, in citing its rationale for rescinding the rule during the Trump administration, said a "single, national blanket" approach "constrains responsible officials from exercising the timely, place-based discretion needed."
"In addition, evolving national priorities and changed conditions have required more active management approaches," the department went on to state.
Bloom believes public comment can make a difference, pointing to the rule being kept in place in 2005 after public outcry and public pushback helping to remove a provision to sell public land from the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" in 2025.
"When the public rises up and speaks out and tells the administration, hands off our public lands, sometimes the administration will listen. We have to stand up for our public lands and make our voices heard," Bloom said.
The Roadless Rule applies to land in every state in the Mountain West except Colorado and Idaho, which have their own state-specific rules. People can submit their opinions online at regulations.gov.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
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