Trump forest rule rollback risks 400 species
A Trump administration decision to rescind a 2001 forest protection rule could accelerate extinction for over 400 endangered species by opening millions of
More than 400 endangered animal and plant species could face accelerated extinction after the Donald Trump administration rescinded a rule protecting old-growth forests. The decision last week to roll back the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule puts 7.4 million acres of endangered-species habitat and nearly 1,800 miles of protected rivers and streams at risk, a new report from the Center for Biological Diversity states.
The administration cited outdated restrictions that kept forested acres off-limits to treatments that could improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk. Conservationists have criticized the move.
"Our national forests are home to some of America’s most iconic animals, from grizzlies to hellbenders," said Randi Spivak, public lands policy director at the Center for Biological Diversity. "Bulldozing more roads through them will mean dirtier water, fragmented wildlife habitat and greater wildfire risk."
At-Risk Species and Regions
The report details species and habitats across the United States now under threat. At-risk species include grizzly bears and gray wolves in the Rocky Mountains, wild salmon in the Pacific north-west and Alaska, Mexican spotted owls and Gila trout in the south-west, as well as rare butterflies and wildflowers nationwide.
| Region | At-Risk Roadless Acres | Critical Habitat Acres | At-Risk Waterways (miles) | Key Species at Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Mountains | 9.7 million | 2.9 million | 11,000 | 21 imperiled plant and animal species, including grizzlies and wolves |
| Alaska (Tongass NF) | 9.3 million | Not specified | Not specified | Wild salmon |
| US South and South-East | 1.1 million | Not specified | 1,300 | Eastern hellbenders, Carolina northern flying squirrels, bog turtles |
| South-West | Nearly 10 million | 1.1 million | 4,205 | Mexican gray wolves, jaguars, Mexican spotted owls, loach minnows (101 protected species) |
| Pacific Region | 8.4 million | 3.2 million | 1,280 | Sierra Nevada red foxes (18-39 estimated), 145 protected plants and species |
| North-East | 291,000 | Not specified | Not specified | American martens, northern long-eared bats |
| Upper Midwest | 525,000 | 125,000 | Not specified | Canada lynxes, gray wolves, 33 protected plants and animals |
Impacts on Water and Communities
The rollback threatens watersheds that supply drinking water to major communities. In Montana, roadless areas protect watersheds for Bozeman, the Flathead valley and the Seeley-Swan valley. The Tongass National Forest in Alaska supplies drinking water to more than a dozen communities, including Sitka, where about 9,000 people rely on the Blue Lake Reservoir.
Logging and road construction could introduce sediment and jeopardize water quality. In Georgia, roadless areas in the Chattahoochee National Forest protect the river’s headwaters, providing more than 70% of metro Atlanta’s drinking water to about 5 million people. National forests in the south-west provide 45% of Phoenix’s water and three-fourths of Flagstaff’s.
Broader Context of Rollbacks
The decision to rescind the "roadless rule" is the latest in a series of environmental rollbacks by the Trump administration. Since retaking office last January, Trump has allowed off-road vehicles on public lands and national parks, scrapped drilling-free buffer zones near a world heritage site in New Mexico and ordered tree cutting across 280 million acres of national forests and public lands.
This has occurred alongside an overhaul of the US Forest Service, which manages 193 million acres across the country. The report notes that some species survive only in small, isolated populations where every acre of intact habitat matters.
