Roadless Rule Under Attack

Enacted in 2001 with broad bipartisan support, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule (known as the Roadless Rule) protects 45 million acres of national forests. These are among the nation’s last remaining undisturbed wildlands, providing safe habitat for at-risk wildlife, clean drinking water for millions of Americans, and abundant outdoor recreation opportunities across the country. The rule was created to stop harmful road building, which leads to industrial logging, mining, oil & gas drilling, and commercial development. Since its enactment, the Roadless Rule has been considered one of the most important conservation wins in United States history.

In California, the Roadless Rule safeguards over 4 million acres of undisturbed forests, from the Klamath to the Trinity across the Sierra range and far south to the San Gabriels, with so much in between; this policy protects areas we’re all fond of and rely on to ensure a healthy ecosystem.

Check out this map to find roadless areas near you and the places you love to climb, bike, fish, hunt, hike, stargaze, and bring your family to build memories.

Last year, the Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, announced that the administration aimed to rescind the Roadless Rule, stating that the rescission would help prevent and reduce wildfires, which is a red herring. More than 600,000 comment letters were submitted, with 99% against the repeal.

On August 18th, 2026, the USDA released a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and proposed rule to fully rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Act (Roadless Rule). In the USDA’s press release, the department pivoted slightly from its “tinderbox” talking points to add that the rescission will give “local control” – this is another red herring. Further in the press release, the department stated, “The rescission aligns with Executive Order 14192, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation, to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens, Executive Order 14225, Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production, Executive Order 14154, Unleashing American Energy, and Executive Order 14153, Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential.” This clearly indicates the Administration’s intent to log, mine, dig, and extract any resource from the places we care for and love. This will only create more fights to safeguard these undeveloped landscapes.

Action is Needed Now! What You Can Do!
The Public Comment Period Ends September 21, 2026

Undoing the Roadless Rule could permanently damage landscapes that take centuries to recover, and only 20% of California's forests remain roadless, making any additional degradation significant. Roads fragment wildlife corridors, introduce invasive species, and increase fire risk. Logging in these areas often targets mature and old-growth trees—some of our best natural tools for fighting climate change.

We need to once again write to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to express our concerns about this ruling on local places. This

is an opportunity to weigh in with feedback on government decisions that will affect the land, water, and surrounding communities. Submitting comments serves as a formal record of potential impacts, public opinion, and risk identification. These comments can be used to hold decision-makers accountable. 

Join us on September 8th at Mt Shasta Library or on September 12th at Deadwood Supply for a comment letter workshop. We'll walk through the steps to submit a comment letter on the government website, answer questions on the Roadless Rules, and discuss the local impacts the ruling could have on the landscapes & watersheds.  We'll also have computers set up to submit your comment on the spot!

Bianca there are 2 options on this page.

Option 1 (Enter Zip Code to Find Your Members of Congress) is comprehensive and depends greatly on the content we provide within the page and the directions we provide. The lookup technology is free.
Option 2 is Rock the Vote for voter registration. Not relevant to Action Alerts, good to know that there is this technology though.

My challenge is how to capture the Constituent information and add to Charityproud.  Here are 2 options that originate from an email or social media.
1.Begin with a Charityproud Action Alert Signup here
There is direction in the CP form page to send them to the Action Alert Hub (which takes them to the Action Alert).  I can create a new Notification Group so you and anyone else get the notification of new signups.  I can also assign them to an Affiliation when I process them.

2.Begin with taking them to the Action Alert Hub (I haven’t created this yet) that takes them to the Action Alert here
The Action Alert Hub will have boxes like on the Donate page. The box links will lead to a specific Action Alert page.  The content in the page then directs to the Action Alert Update form in CP.

My main concern is losing people in the process of one system to another.  Glad to hear your insight on this.  

This is a DRAFT layout.

Specific Action Alert Page Content.  There will be a page for each Action Alert.

What this is
Why this is important
How it affects you
Talking points
Example of an Alert: https://earthjustice.org/action/tell-congress-defend-our-national-monuments

Your Message to your Representative
You may customize this content in your own words (more impactful) by copying our recommended content from this page and pasting into a Word, Text Edit, Notepad, Note, or a compose a new email to edit your content.  Modify your content and then copy it for sending in a message to your representative.
Alternately, you could copy our recommended content and modify the content directly in the Representative’s message form.

Recommended Content

I am writing today as your constituent to ask that you protect our public lands and demand the Trump administration reverse its attack on Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments. I also urge you to vote against any legislation that would reduce protections for these monuments. Our leaders must vigorously oppose this attack on Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, which could set the stage for similar attacks on national monuments across the country.

Americans overwhelmingly support national monuments, regardless of party affiliation. I urge you to reject these assaults on our public lands and honor commitments made to Tribes, communities, and future generations.

Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears are treasured landscapes in our nation’s public lands system. We need your help demanding these monuments be restored to reverse the blow to communities that depend on their protections.

Instructions to send a message to your Representative
1. Copy, or Modify and Copy, the recommended content in this page.
2. Enter your zip code in the form below.
3. Select a Representative’s Contact form link.
4. Click the link to write to your Representative.
5. Paste your message into the Message field.
You may also call your Representative.
The QR code is for saving a your Representative’s Contact info vCard to your phone. Follow the prompts to do so.

1. Enter Zip Code for Representative Info.  Click to Call or Click to Send a Contact form letter.

After you complete contacting your Representatives (thank you!) please sign up for our Action Alert updates here.

2. Rock the Vote : Voter engagement tools

https://www.rockthevote.org/programs-and-partner-resources/tech-for-civic-engagement/