Title: The Trump Administration’s Roadless Rule Reversal: A Step Backwards in Wildfire Management? The Trump administration has recently announced plans to build more roads through national forests by rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule, which protected nearly 60 million acres of forested lands. This move is expected to help firefighters, according to U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. However, forest ecologists and fire scientists argue that more roads could lead to more wildfires due to the law of unintended consequences. Historically, when it comes to roads and wildfires, a clear pattern has held: “One of the most fundamental concepts in fire, especially in terms of fire geography, is that roads are the dominant place where you see ignitions,” said Alexandra Syphard, senior research scientist with the Conservation Biology Institute. The reason for this lies in two factors: firstly, where there are roads, there are people; and secondly, plowing roads into roadless forests can change the types of vegetation that thrive in these areas. The potential implications of this decision are significant. If more roads are built through national forests, it could lead to an increase in wildfires due to human activity and changes in forest ecosystems. This would not only have environmental consequences but also economic ones as resources needed for fire suppression and active forest management may be limited. In conclusion, while the Trump administration believes that rescinding the Roadless Rule will help firefighters, experts warn against this decision. The law of unintended consequences suggests that building more roads through national forests could actually lead to more wildfires rather than less. As such, it is crucial for policymakers and stakeholders alike to consider these potential ramifications before moving forward with any changes in policy or infrastructure development within our nation’s protected lands.
Source: [Original Article](https://www.npr.org/2025/08/29/nx-s1-5521379/trump-administration-forest-roads-roadless-rule-firefighters-wildfire)
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