MEDIA ADVISORY: Sources and new resources available in advance of fed statement on bulldozing public lands for roads

April 3, 2026

Contact

• Ian Brickey, [email protected]
• Chris Nelson, 425-476-4087, cnelson@pyramidcommunications

WHAT

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expected to soon release a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for their plan to rescind the Roadless Area Conversation Rule.
• Enacted in 2001 with broad bipartisan support, the "Roadless Rule" conserves 45 million acres of national forest land. When it was enacted, there were more than 600 public meetings, and the comment period generated 1.6 million remarks.
• These lands are among the nation's last-standing, undisturbed wildlands, providing safe habitat for at-risk wildlife, clean drinking water for millions of Americans and abundant outdoor recreation opportunities across the country.
• Hunting and fishing advocates, conservationists, outdoor recreation groups and others have called the plan to gut the Roadless Area Conversation Rule a massive threat to national forests loved by all Americans.
• This is a plan to sell out public lands-used and embraced by people of all stripes, from families to hunters to kayakers to hikers-to the highest bidder.
• For this proposed rescission, the federal government did not hold a single meeting during the scoping comment period. As of April 2, no public meetings have been announced for the comment period associated with the Draft EIS.

WHO

The following expert sources are available for interviews for your coverage of the Roadless Rule:

• Alex Craven, Forest Campaign Manager, Sierra Club
• Vera Smith, Director of National Forests and Public Lands Program, Defenders of Wildlife
• Blaine Miller-McFeeley, Sr. Legislative Representative, Earthjustice
• Ellen "Len" Montgomery, Great Outdoors Campaign Director, Environment America
• Gabrielle Berthel, Forest Advocate, Natural Resources Defense Council
• Josh Hicks, Director of Conservation Campaigns, and Dr. Greg Aplet, Senior Forest Scientist, The Wilderness Society

NEW RESOURCES

The following new resources are valuable assets for understanding the Roadless Area Conservation Rule and how it impacts your readers, viewers and listeners.

• A study of the impact of roads on wildfires (The Wilderness Society)
• Three-decade record of contiguous-U.S. national forest wildfires indicates increased density of ignitions near roads
• Interactive mapping showing species impacted in your region (Defenders of Wildlife)
• Mapping tool
• Storymap - 12 of the species at risk
• Supplemental blog: A nation without the Roadless Rule? New USA map tool show the stakes for wildlife
• How outdoor traditions depend on roadless lands (Trout Unlimited)
• Roadless: America's Sporting Lands
• Economic Value of the Roadless Rule (Earth Economics)
• Roadless Area Conservation Rule Brings $24B in Benefits
• About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.

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Ian Brickey

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