Johnson County, state submit input on USFS roadless rescission

BUFFALO — As the U.S. Forest Service navigates the process of reconsidering its management of roadless areas, Johnson County gave its two cents in its role as a cooperating agency.

The Trump administration’s plan to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule has drawn the ire of conservation advocates and praise from those advocating for more timber harvest on federal lands.

Whatever happens, the action is likely to have an impact locally, because the Bighorn National Forest has 689,770 acres that are part of the forest’s roadless inventory, which is 62% of the forest, according to Johnson County Commission Chairman Bill Novotny’s comments to the Forest Service. Individuals, cooperating agencies and organizations submitted comments on the agency’s Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

Novotny’s comments on behalf of the county are largely supportive of the Trump administration’s intent to rescind the roadless rule. The comments shared with the Bulletin emphasize the importance of managing federal lands at the forest level rather than by a one-size-fits-all rule out of Washington, D.C.

“Our support is not based on a perceived need for commercial timber roads to be developed everywhere within the forests of Wyoming, but on the principle that the forest managers – and their state and local partners – need to have the authority to make management decisions that reflect the diverse ecological, social and economic conditions that exist across forests, counties and states,” part of the county’s comment reads.

The Forest Service has received more than 625,000 comments on the measure, according to Regulations.gov. An analysis of the comments by the Center for Western Priorities, a conservation-focused nonprofit, found that roughly 99% of the comments submitted by the final day of the 21-day comment period opposed the agency’s plan to repeal the roadless rule.

The roadless rule was established at the end of the Clinton administration to protect certain Forest Service lands from new road construction, road reconstruction and commercial logging. The rule’s advocates laud the roadless designation as a safeguard for drinking water and fish and other wildlife. 

Those cheering for its rescission cite increasing wildfire risk as a reason to open certain areas up to logging.

Chris Wood, the president and CEO of Trout Unlimited, a nonprofit that supports conservation of cold water fisheries, said in a statement that the rule has maintained both drinking water for forest- adjacent communities and backcountry hunting and fishing opportunities.

“We would, honestly, welcome a transparent, collaborative process to determine if tweaks to the rule would allow us to better protect the values of roadless areas while also better protecting communities of people at risk of catastrophic fire,” he said in a statement. “Rather than rescinding the Roadless Rule and allowing that chaos to unfold, we encourage the Forest Service to work with stakeholders to develop solutions that continue to protect roadless areas and intact fish and wildlife habitat.”

Currently, the Notice of Intent notes just the “no action” alternative that would maintain the status quo of the roadless rule and its full rescission as options.

Novotny’s comments note that the agency should develop and analyze additional alternatives in its environmental impact statement to avoid successful legal challenges. The county’s overall position is that decision-making authority should be returned to the forests.

Wyoming State Forestry took a similar stance in its comments. The agency cites a 2012 rule guiding Forest Service land use planning that emphasized more localized planning efforts with local and state governments as collaborators.

“The 2012 Planning Rule is newer than the 2001 RACR itself and provides a modernized approach that ensures national forests are managed to a desired condition that has input from all local, state and national stakeholders,” a portion of the comments signed by Wyoming State Forester Kelly Norris reads.

State Forestry also mentions inaccuracies in roadless area mapping. The Bighorn National Forest’s inventoried roadless areas include 390 miles of roads, the agency notes. And while conservation advocates cite drinking water quality as a reason to keep the roadless rule, Wyoming State Forestry references wildfire threats to municipal watersheds in roadless areas in its comment.

“Wyoming does not need a top-down National US Forest Service rule to designate roadless areas, as our Land Management Plans established a balanced approach for conservation, forest management and multiple use through a collaborative process,” the Wyoming State Forestry’s comment reads.

A draft environmental impact statement and proposed rule are expected to be released in early 2026, according to the Forest Service website.

This story was published on Oct. 2, 2025.