A new study indicates that federal roadless-area protections are crucial for supporting drinking water supplies for at least 25 million Americans, introducing a public health aspect to the Trump administration's initiative to repeal the long-standing forest rule.
What Is the Roadless Rule?
The Roadless Area Conservation Rule, established by the U.S. Forest Service in 2001, prohibits most road construction, reconstruction, and timber harvesting in inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest System.
The University of Washington and Conservation Science Partners study reveals that these areas encompass approximately 60 million acres of National Forest System lands and were designated to preserve soil, water, biodiversity, and recreational values.
Because these protections were enacted administratively rather than by Congress, the study points out that subsequent administrations can alter them.
Why Researchers Say Drinking Water Could Be Affected
The study, published on July 15 in PLOS Water, found that inventoried roadless areas safeguard over 80,000 miles of streams and rivers across the contiguous U.S. Researchers estimate that these areas serve as the primary protective measure for more than 62,000 miles of rivers when other conservation and regulatory safeguards are considered.
The authors also estimated that watersheds influenced by roadless areas provide public drinking water to at least 25 million individuals, including 21.3 million people in downstream watersheds within 100 river miles of a roadless-area boundary.
"Our results demonstrate that rescinding the Roadless Rule would diminish protections for rivers, and may compromise drinking water quality and affordability, reduce recreational opportunities, and threaten freshwater biodiversity," the authors stated. "Safeguarding Roadless Rule protections is therefore essential for sustaining ecosystem services, supporting human well-being, and advancing broader conservation and resilience goals under increasing climatic and land-use pressures."
Lead author Julian Olden, a professor of aquatic and fishery science at the University of Washington, remarked in a UW release that "the roadless rule supports the drinking water supply for 25 million Americans" and protects wildlife habitat and recreational assets.
"In short, rivers in roadless areas are essential for both people and nature," Olden added.
The study highlighted several states where watersheds influenced by roadless areas contribute significantly to public water customers, including California, Colorado, and New Mexico.
"The study makes clear how far-reaching the damage would be from stripping protection from national forest roadless areas,” Randi Spivak, public lands policy director with the Center for Biological Diversity, told Newsweek. "These roadless areas protect the watersheds that supply drinking water to at least 25 million Americans—from Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles to communities across West Virginia, North Carolina and Vermont.
“Bulldozing roads through these forests to log them will pollute drinking water and increase fire risk. The Trump administration routinely chooses private profit over public health and ignores the scientific facts to do so. It's well past time for Congress to permanently protect our remaining roadless national forests.”
Leda Huta, vice president of government relations at American Rivers, stated in a release provided to Newsweek: “At a time when water scarcity is a major threat, it is immensely disappointing that reversing course on these landmark protections is even on the table. Losing the Roadless Rule would be a major loss for all of us downstream who depend on these public lands.”
What the Trump Administration Is Proposing
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced on June 23, 2025, that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) intended to rescind the 2001 rule, stating the change would lift restrictions on road construction, reconstruction, and timber harvesting on nearly 59 million acres.
The USDA asserted that the rule was “overly restrictive” and argued that its repeal would grant local forest managers greater flexibility for wildfire prevention, forest management, and timber production.
The Forest Service's roadless-area page indicates that the rescission effort pertains to approximately 45 million acres still managed under the 2001 rule, and that Idaho and Colorado’s state-specific roadless rules would remain unaffected.
“The study gets one thing right: every acre of national forest land is vital to protecting America’s headwaters and delivering clean drinking water to millions of people," a USDA spokesperson told Newsweek. "But its conclusions miss a fundamental point. The proposed rescission doesn’t authorize a single tree to be cut or a single road to be built. Any future actions would continue to follow the forests plans, comply with federal laws, and include environmental review.”
The spokesperson defended the proposal by stating that the Roadless Rule has imposed a “one-size-fits-all” approach that limits local forest managers. The department argued that returning decision-making authority to local officials would provide communities with more flexibility to mitigate wildfire risk, protect watersheds, and manage roadless lands.
“The rule meant to safeguard drinking water has left more than 3,800 municipal watersheds at risk, with burned areas producing up to 450 percent more sediment in reservoirs than managed forests. That sediment directly threatens water security and imposes massive costs on rural communities already struggling to manage post‑fire impacts,” they stated. “This is about removing a rigid barrier so our experts can do what’s necessary to keep forests and headwaters healthy.”
What Happens Next
The Forest Service stated that a notice of intent was published in the Federal Register on August 29, 2025, and that the initial public comment period concluded in September.
The USDA spokesperson informed Newsweek that the agency is preparing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
“When it is available, the public will have a designated comment period to respond,” they said.
Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Alf Joyner and Anthony Murray.
