The Trump Administration is paving the way to increase logging and road construction in national forests, including two million acres of land in Washington alone, in a move that would strip away a 25-year-old rule aimed at keeping those forests pristine.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture under President Donald Trump has long expressed interest in ruling out the aptly-named roadless rule in favor of more roads and commercial logging through protected natural areas.
The USDA said it must repeal the rule in order to build more roads to help fight wildfires, an issue many states have struggled to reckon with over the course of the summer.
Tom Uniack, executive director of nonprofit Washington Wild, said the USDA's logic isn't sound. Uniack notes that scientific studies and wildland firefighters have reported the vast majority of wildfires have happened within 50 meters of roads.
"So if you were to add roads to these areas that don't have them," said Uniack, "you're going to get more fires, not less."
Washington's roadless areas alone contain 830 trails encompassing 4,000 miles, including popular trails like Lena Lake, Kettle Crest, Juniper Ridge, and Maple Pass Loop in the North Cascades. Within those areas are also rivers and watersheds that supply clean drinking water. A 2026 University of Washington study, in partnership with Conservation Science Partners, found that the roadless rule protects drinking water for 25 million Americans.
Cities like Port Townsend could be particularly impacted by any new construction or logging, because they rely on water that comes entirely from roadless areas.
"The roadless rule might be the most important protection for our forests and watersheds that many people just don't know about," noted Uniack.
Hikers KING 5 spoke with on Friday expressed concerns about the changes to the roadless rule.
Joanne Lea is an avid adventurer, taking near-weekly trips into the woods with her partner. She worried about what could come from opening up Washington's wilderness.
"To keep building and keep destroying land, we're going to be left with nothing," she said.
Justin Pearl, who hikes regularly in Washington, said while he felt more roads could make hiking more accessible for drivers, he worried about what kind of material the roads would be constructed with.
"Paved roads, not a fan because the oil and asphalt, it'll naturally leak oil its entirely life," said Pearl.
You have until Sept. 21, 2026 to submit a comment on the proposed changes. You can do so by going to regulations.gov, searching for "roadless" and submitting your feedback.