Block Mike Lee's Amendment to Gut the Roadless Rule

Kill Mike Lee's amendment to the Wildfire Prevention Act. What started as a bipartisan bill with real conservation support has been hijacked by a last-minute rider that would eliminate the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule and permanently block any similar protection from ever being enacted again. That's 45 million acres of protected Forest Service land stripped of safeguards in one legislative sleight of hand. The wildfire justification doesn't hold up. Sen. Alex Padilla pointed out that 240,000 acres of roadless areas in California alone have already been treated for wildfire hazard mitigation under the existing rule. A Pacific Biodiversity Institute study found 95% of human-caused wildfires start within a half-mile of a road — meaning more roads means more fire risk, not less. The Forest Service treated 35% less acreage in 2025 than in 2024; that's a resource problem, not a regulatory one. Sen. Martin Heinrich called this amendment exactly what it is: a Trojan Horse. Don't let it ride.