2026 / Blue spaces, Public land, Recreation

Assessing the Value of the U.S. Roadless Rule for People and Nature

Citation

Olden, J. D., Postel, S. L., Dombeck, M. P., Kesting, H., Freeman, P., & Comte, L. (2026). Assessing the value of the U.S. Roadless Rule for people and nature. PLOS Water, 5(7). doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000538

Link to file

For more than a hundred years, U.S. forest policy has recognized that protecting forested watersheds is key to safeguarding water supplies. The 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule (commonly called the Roadless Rule) set aside roughly 60 million acres of National Forest land as Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs). The rule limits road building and commercial logging in these areas to protect soil, water, biodiversity, and recreation.

Because IRAs were created by an administrative rule rather than by law, they can be undone by a future administration. Recent efforts to repeal the Roadless Rule have raised new concerns about what might be lost — ecologically and economically.

In this study, researchers looked at what’s at stake if Roadless Rule protections were weakened. They measured the benefits IRAs provide for river protection, clean drinking water, recreation, and aquatic biodiversity across the lower 48 states.

They found that IRAs protect more than 130,000 kilometers of streams and rivers — about 2.5% of the nation’s total river length. When accounting for other protections already in place, IRAs are the primary safeguard for over 100,000 kilometers of rivers (1.9%). These protections are spread across the country and matter most in regions that have few other safeguards.

Watersheds influenced by IRAs supply drinking water to at least 25 million Americans. In several states, more than a third of the population gets its water from these areas. Because many National Forests are close to cities, these benefits are amplified — even in states with relatively small IRA acreage.

IRA-protected watersheds also overlap heavily with popular hunting and fishing areas and support a wide range of freshwater species.

The researchers concluded that repealing the Roadless Rule would weaken protections for rivers, could hurt drinking water quality and affordability, reduce opportunities for outdoor recreation, and threaten freshwater biodiversity. Keeping the Roadless Rule in place is essential for maintaining these benefits, supporting people’s well-being, and meeting broader conservation and climate-resilience goals as pressures on land and water continue to grow.

Abstract

For more than a century, forest policy in the United States has recognized the importance of protecting forested watersheds to safeguard water resources. The 2001 U.S. Forest Service Roadless Area Conservation Rule (Roadless Rule) established Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs) across approximately 60 million acres of National Forest System lands to sustain high-quality soil, water, biodiversity, and recreational values by restricting road building and commercial timber harvest. Because IRAs are administratively designated rather than legislatively protected, they remain vulnerable to policy reversals. Recent efforts to rescind the Roadless Rule have renewed concerns about potential ecological and economic consequences. Here, we assess vulnerabilities to weakened protections under the Roadless Rule by quantifying the benefits IRAs provide for river protection, clean water provisioning, recreational opportunities, and aquatic biodiversity across the conterminous United States. We find that IRAs protect over 130,000 kms of streams and rivers, representing 2.5% of total river length, and serve as the primary protection mechanism for more than 100,000 kms of rivers (1.9%) when accounting for other regulatory and conservation frameworks. These protections are geographically widespread and particularly important in regions with limited alternative safeguards. IRA-influenced watersheds supply drinking water to at least 25 million Americans, with several states sourcing water for over one-third of their populations from these areas. Proximity of National Forests to urban centers amplifies these benefits, even in states with relatively small IRA extents. In addition, IRA-protected watersheds overlap substantially with high-demand hunting and fishing areas and support diverse aquatic biodiversity. Our results demonstrate that rescinding the Roadless Rule would diminish protections for rivers, and may compromise drinking water quality and affordability, reduce recreational opportunities, and threaten freshwater biodiversity. Safeguarding Roadless Rule protections is therefore essential for sustaining ecosystem services, supporting human well-being, and advancing broader conservation and resilience goals under increasing climatic and land-use pressures.