Overview
- A peer-reviewed study published July 15, 2026 in PLOS Water mapped 2,488 Inventoried Roadless Areas and concluded about 25 million people receive drinking water from watersheds influenced by those areas.
- Researchers found more than 80,000 miles of rivers receive some protection from the Roadless Rule, with nearly 62,000 miles protected only by that federal rule.
- The study warns that logging and new roadbuilding in previously roadless tracts increase sediment and pollutant risks, which can force water treatment plants to raise costs or seek alternate supplies.
- The Biden Administration’s successor, the Trump Administration, announced a plan in June 2025 to roll back the 2001 Roadless Rule and the U.S. Forest Service is preparing a proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement with a final decision expected in late 2026.
- Stakeholders are sharply divided: timber interests seek greater access for harvest, while scientists, conservation groups, recreational users, and more than half a million public commenters oppose rescinding the rule because of water, habitat, and recreation impacts.