Trump Admin Seeks To Develop Millions Of Acres Of National Forest Land

August 19, 2026 9:31 AM ET The U.S. Forest Service filed a proposal Tuesday to rescind a 25-year-old rule that had prevented development on 44 million acres, nearly one-third of the National Forest System, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced.The USDA framed the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule as a “one-size-fits-all restriction” that frustrated land managers and hindered wildfire risk reduction. (RELATED: America Found A Rare Metal It Desperately Needs. Red Tape Could Keep It In The Ground For Ages)“For too long, outdated restrictions have kept tens of millions of forested acres off-limits to the very treatments that improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk to our communities,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in the statement. “Today, we filed a proposa