Near Muddy Creek, Utah                                                                                                                      (Mike Painter)

 
September 2, 2025

Dear CalUWild Friends & Supporters—

Although written in August, I decided to wait until after the Labor Day weekend to send it out—so it wouldn’t get lost in the weekend shuffle, but also to allow people to enjoy the holiday before things resume in Washington.

There are three ACTION ITEMS this month, with ITEM 2A being the only one that will take a little more time. But it’s a critical one. The other two require just a quick phone call to Congress, and they can be combined. And as always, there is a long list of interesting articles; read what you wish, when you have time.

Congress is due to return this week after having been on recess for the month of August, after being sent home abruptly by House Speaker Johnson. But before they left, the land sell-off amendments proposed by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) were withdrawn from the Big Bad Reconciliation Bill. Sen. Lee has vowed to pursue the idea, despite enormous public opposition from across the political spectrum. An article in E&E News took a look at the issue: How Mike Lee ended up alone in megabill land fight. We’ll keep you posted.

The administration, however, has been busy dismantling everything it can get its hands on, faster than anyone can keep track of. We need to remain vigilant and active to protect the things we hold dear, including Democracy itself. Please let your elected representatives know your thoughts on current events. Write to the editor of your local newspaper. Talk with your friends. There is a lot at stake.

But also try to find time to enjoy the outdoors. National Public Lands Day is September 27, when entrance fees at most national sites and many others are waived. Many stewardship and other activities are planned, too. Click here for more information.

Finally, the Sierra Club National Utah Wilderness Team is hosting a Zoom presentation on Wilderness and Pollinators, September 25, 5 p.m., Pacific time. Click here for more details and a registration link.

And as always, thank you for your support—for wilderness and public lands, as well as for CalUWild.

 
Best wishes,
Mike Painter, Coordinator

 
IN UTAH
1.   Red Rocks Bill Cosponsor Update
          (ACTION ITEM)

IN WASHINGTON, DC
2.   U.S. Forest Service Roadless Rule
          A.   Rescission Announced
                    Scoping Period Open
                    COMMENTS NEEDED
                    DEADLINE: September 19
                    (ACTION ITEM)
          B.   Roadless Area Protection Act
                    Legislation Introduced
                    Cosponsors Needed
                    (ACTION ITEM)

IN THE PRESS & ELSEWHERE
3.   Links to Articles and Other Items of Interest

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

IN UTAH
1.   Red Rock Bill Cosponsor Update
          (ACTION ITEM)

Since our last Update, we’ve added two more House cosponsors from California to America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act. If you live in one of their districts, please call their office to say “thank you.”

They bring the total number of California cosponsors to twelve, and nationally there are 53. As we wrote last month, we’d still like more from California, in particular:

The bill number is H.R.2467.

We’d like to see our two Senators sign on to S.1193, the companion bill in the Senate, where Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is the lead sponsor.

A full list of California cosponsors may be found on the cosponsor sheet on our website. If your representative is not listed as a cosponsor, please call and ask that they sign on. A list of cosponsors nationwide may be found here.

 
IN WASHINGTON, DC
U.S. Forest Service Roadless Rule

          A.   Rescission Announced
                    Scoping Period Open
                    COMMENTS NEEDED
                    DEADLINE: September 19
                    (ACTION ITEM)

Back in 2001, Pres. Bill Clinton’s administration undertook a lengthy process to protect roadless areas in our national forests. Close to 60 million acres of land have been free from road construction, timber cutting, mining, and other types of development. In California, about 4 million acres were covered by the Roadless Rule. Our friends at Tuleyome have a webpage that provides some good background on the Rule.

Some time ago, the Agriculture Department, which oversees the Forest Service, announced that it would rescind the Roadless Rule, and last Friday (right before the holiday weekend, not likely a coincidence), it made good on the threat to initiate the process, with an unusually short 21-day comment period.

You may read the USDA Press Release here. As might be expected, it contains inaccuracies, such as stating that the Rule “has frustrated land managers and served as a barrier to action – prohibiting road construction, which has limited wildfire suppression and active forest management.” The Rule did not prohibit temporary roads that might be needed for forest management, and the large majority of wildfires happen in areas that are not roadless or wilderness. The real “problem” with the Rule is that it stands in the way of resource exploitation and the administration’s Executive Order 14192, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation. However, most Roadless Areas not only have the least productive land, but they’re also usually the steepest and unstable.

Scoping, the first step in the process, closes September 19. Please write a personalized comment! It is important that as many people as possible submit comments opposing the proposed rescission from the outset. Use any or all of the following talking points, but please use your own words, and please be sure your comments are substantive, backed up by facts. (You can see from the number of talking points, just how important the Roadless Rule is.)

—   Begin by stating clearly that there is no need to rescind the Rule and that you are opposed to this proposal. The Rule has served well since its adoption in 2001.

—   Request that USDA provide further opportunities for commenting as well as scheduling public meetings as the process moves forward.

—   Explain how rescission would impact the national forests you are familiar with.

—   Roadless Areas provide opportunities for outdoor recreation, including camping, hiking and backpacking, hunting and angling, wildlife viewing and photography, rock climbing, and others. Large sections of the Continental Divide, Pacific Crest, and Appalachian National Trails cross protected Roadless Areas. All of these activities, in turn, help support local (often rural) economies.

—   Roads fragment wildlife habitat. Existing Roadless Areas provide habitat for many threatened and endangered species. Roadless Areas provide important migration corridors. Pollutants such as rubber tire dust from roads have been shown to impact salmon and other native fish.

—   Most non-naturally caused wildfires (90%, by some estimates) begin close to roads.

—   Roadless Areas are the source of half of California’s—and much of the nation’s—drinking water. Keeping roads aways from water sources reduces sediment, cutting down on the need for later filtration.

—   Roadless Areas are important for Indigenous communities, protecting traditional sites and allowing them to continue cultural practices such as hunting and gathering plants for food, medicine, and traditional arts.

—   The Forest Service already has a huge road system, stretching 380,000 miles, which is longer than the country’s highways. The system suffers from a huge maintenance backlog, and taxpayers get the bill for it all.

—   The Roadless Rule already has exceptions built in for dealing with emergency situations like wildfire, flooding, or other unusual events. The Forest Service routinely conducts management activities within Roadless Areas.

—   There is broad public and political support for the existing Rule. At least 53 House members have sponsored H.R.3930, the Roadless Area Conservation Act, and 17 Senators have signed on to S.2024, its companion bill. This bill codifies the Roadless Rule into law. (See ITEM 2B, immediately following.)

To comment, click on the blue Comment button on the page with the formal announcement from the Federal Register.

You can also go directly to the form by clicking here.

Comments are also being accepted via U.S. Mail at:

This article appeared in National Parks Traveler: National Parks Could Suffer From Rescinding Of Roadless Rule, looking at the issue from a related angle. The Traveler is an invaluable, independent source of news and information on our national parks, worthy of your support.

 
          B.   Roadless Area Protection Act
                    Legislation Introduced
                    Cosponsors Needed
                    (ACTION ITEM)

As mentioned above, the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2025 has been introduced in both the House (H.R.3930) and Senate (S.2024). It would codify the Roadless Rule, making it impervious to change by this or any other administration. There are already 53 House cosponsors, with 15 from California. Both Sens. Padilla and Schiff are cosponsors as well, joining 17 others in the Senate. The California House cosponsors are:

We’ve added the bill to our online information sheet, and you can find phone numbers for all DC offices there, as well. Please call with thanks or requests to cosponsor, as appropriate.

 
IN THE PRESS & ELSEWHERE
3.   Links to Articles and Other Items of Interest

If a link is broken or otherwise inaccessible, please send me an email, and I’ll fix it or send you a PDF copy. Gift links are temporary links from some websites, allowing non-subscribers to view articles for free for a limited time. As always, inclusion of an item in this section does not imply agreement with the viewpoint expressed.

Utah

California

Nevada

Oregon

National Parks

 
 
 

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