"The rule banning new roads in some forests protects prime bear habitat and was part of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s justification for its failed attempt to delist grizzlies in 2017."
"When the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service attempted to delist grizzly bears during President Donald Trump’s first administration, its justification for doing so included the quality of grizzly habitat. Under the roadless rule, which prevents new thoroughfares from being built in some of the wildest corners of national forests, the mountainous areas and remote watersheds the bears depend on were ostensibly safe from development.
But now, both grizzlies and the roadless rule are in the crosshairs of the second Trump administration and Republicans in Congress.
In June, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that the Forest Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, would begin the process to rescind the roadless rule; meanwhile, a House committee has passed legislation that would direct USFWS to delist grizzlies. Some in the environmental community are wondering whether these two objectives may be at odds with one another.
“A full rescission of the roadless rule may come with a whole bunch of consequences that we don’t even know yet,” said David Willms, an associate vice president for Public Lands with the National Wildlife Federation. In late November, Willms asked, in a LinkedIn post, whether rescinding the roadless rule was compatible with a potential grizzly bear delisting decision."
Jake Bolster reports for Inside Climate News December 22, 2025.
Advertisement 
