ATLANTA – The U.S. Forest Service has formally begun to rescind the 2001 “Roadless Rule” which protects 58.5 million acres of wild areas in national forests, including 63,000 acres in Georgia. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins initially announced plans to roll back these forest protections on June 23, 2025 at the Western Governors’ Association Meeting. To begin the official process, the agency posted a “Notice of Intent” to the Federal Register on Friday, at which point a 21 day public comment period will commence.
Enacted by President Bill Clinton in 2001, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule was the result of years of work and public input. The public comment period set a record with 1.6 million public comments submitted, and tens of thousands of people participated in hundreds of public meetings. The rule protects roadless areas from new road construction and prohibits the commercial logging of roadless areas. The posted notice does not include rolling back protections for Colorado or Idaho roadless areas, which are protected by state-specific rules which were enacted after 2001. The total number of acres that will be affected by this announcement is approximately 45 million.
Georgia has around half a dozen pockets of roadless forest scattered throughout the Chattahoochee National Forest in North Georgia – many of which provide protections for iconic hiking routes, such as the Appalachian and Benton MacKaye trails.
In response, Environment Georgia state director Jennette Gayer, issued the following statement:
”Georgia’s wild forests are essential and beloved public lands – the Forest Service should not open them up to roads and development. The network of roadless areas throughout the Chattahoochee National Forest help keep logging at bay and provide vital water and wildlife protections for the nature surrounding two of Georgia’s most treasured natural spaces, the Appalachian and Benton MacKaye trails.”
It is more important to protect these areas than to get a little more wood, build one more mine or construct one more road. Let’s keep our wild forests wild.”
