1. United States
2. Md.
3. Letter

Vote NO on the Roadless Rule! For 25 years, the roadless rule has helped the USFS address fiscal challenges and natural resource management concerns. Recent polling (https://www.pew.org/-/media/assets/2026/02/national-poll-on-roadless-rule.pdf)demonstrates that the public continues to be highly supportive of the roadless rule’s core approach to managing federal forests. When given the choice between conservation and development of national forests, 77% of likely voters believe that conserving national forests and other roadless lands for current and future generations is paramount, while only 11% believe that more of these lands should be made available for timber harvesting and mining. This broad support spans political parties, with 71% of self-identified Republicans, 80% of Democrats, and 80% of independent or unaffiliated voters supporting conservation of national forests. When asked specifically about the roadless rule, likely voters support the rule by a strong margin of 76% to 13%. Although science-based updates to the roadless rule should be considered, the intention and general framework of the 2001 policy should be maintained—and it should not be repealed in its entirety.