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Defending the Roadless Rule in 2026

Posted on Oct 9, 2026 in Action Alerts, Conservation News, Public Lands, Roadless, Uncategorized, WA Wild Blog

Photo by Tiffanie Yang

The Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2001 protects nearly 60 million acres of national forest across the nation, including 2 million acres of wild forests in Washington State. Unfortunately, the Trump Administration proposed rolling back the Roadless Rule, and opened a comment period on August 18th. Washington Wild worked with a coalition of statewide and national partners to highlight opposition to eliminating these important protections. 

These protected forests include some iconic spaces and beloved recreation destinations in Washington, including old growth forests along the North Fork of the Sauk, mountain biking along the Upper Dungeness, climbing at Liberty Bell, and more. You can use the USFS interactive map to see the national roadless areas. 

  • The Beauty of Roadless Areas 
    We interviewed Tiffanie Yang, a Seattle-based landscape photographer who spends her time hiking and backpacking through Washington’s wild places. Some of her favorite places to explore reside in the Roadless areas in the North Cascades, especially in the fall. Find her work and her story on our blog post. 
  • The Vistas of Maple Pass Loop 
    Known as one of Washington’s most iconic hikes, the Maple Pass loop takes the hiker 7.2-miles through evergreen forests and up to subalpine ecosystems. Learn more about Maple Pass Loop. 
  • The Flowing Waters of the Upper Dungeness
    On the northeast side of Olympic National Park flows the Dungeness River, a free-flowing river whose waters start within the park’s peaks and flow to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Currently protected by the Roadless Rule, this scenic landscape supports critical salmon habitat, provides clean drinking water for downstream communities, and plays an essential role in flood mitigation and overall watershed health. Read more about the Upper Dungeness.

During the first year of the Trump Administration, a community of conservationists, recreationists, hunters, anglers, and everyday people have come together to oppose the dismantling of protections, and blatant sell-off of our public lands. First, we came together to stop the potential disposal of up to 250 million acres through the Senate budget bill. 

Photo by Chris Chappell

Over the 45 days of the comment period, more than one million comments were submitted to keep Roadless Rule safeguards in place. Washington Wild played a crucial role during this time, highlighting individual voices through a petition, coordinating a joint comment letter signed by more than 300 elected officials and local stakeholders for a comment letter, and tapping a diverse set of voices around the state for earned media

Washington Wild in the News

Photo by Edith Han

As a part of the conservation and outdoor community and as one of the organizations advocating to protect the Roadless Rule, Washington Wild was highlighted in local news outlets: 

Voices Across the State

Photo by Chris Chappell

WA Wild engaged diverse voices around the state, including hop producers, anglers, local elected officials and Tribes about impacts and concerns regarding the proposed repeal of the Roadless Rule. Here are a select few of the many opinion editorials and letters-to-the-editor that were published in local news outlets statewide during the comment period: