Rescinding the Roadless Rule Threatens These 13 Climbing Areas

The Trump administration is looking to roll back a 2001 protection for 44.7 million acres of forests. Here's what climbers need to know.

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A male rock climber ascends the 50's classic route, the Northeast Face of Pingora in the Cirque of the Towers, Wind River Range, Wyoming. (Photo: Getty Images)

On June 23, 2025, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that the Department of Agriculture (USDA) intends to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule, also known as the Roadless Area Conservation Rule.

If the rescission takes effect, it will free up logging and road construction on 44.7 million acres of National Forest land, mostly across 10 Western states.

“For nearly 25 years, the Roadless Rule has frustrated land managers and served as a barrier to action—prohibiting road construction, which has limited wildfire suppression and active forest management,” said Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz in the USDA press release.

The Sierra Club, a conservation organization that opposes rescinding the Roadless Rule, has called Schultz a “corporate lobbyist” for the timber industry. “The Forest Service followed sound science, economic common sense, and overwhelming public support when they adopted such an important and visionary policy more than 20 years ago,” said Alex Craven, the Sierra Club’s Forest Campaign Manager, on August 27. “Donald Trump is making it crystal clear he is willing to pollute our clean air and drinking water, destroy prized habitat for species, and even increase the risk of devastating wildfires, if it means padding the bottom lines of timber and mining companies.”

Outdoor Alliance, the same organization that created a digital map for Utah Senator Mike Lee’s proposal to sell off public lands earlier this year, estimates that 8,659 climbing routes will be affected, but Access Fund says that the number is actually over 10,000.

“[R]escinding the Roadless Rule is a direct threat to the backcountry climbing experience,” wrote Access Fund on August 29.

Which climbing areas does the Roadless Rule affect?

A digital map published by Outdoor Alliance reveals that the Roadless Rule currently protects both backcountry climbs and roadside crags on National Forest land. Colorado and Idaho have their own, state-specific versions of the Roadless Rule, which are not affected by the USDA’s action.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of climbing areas, identified by Climbing editors, that could see new construction with the USDA’s new policy:

1. The Wind River Range, Wyoming
2. Ten Sleep Canyon, Wyoming
3. Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming
4. Darby Canyon near Grant Teton National Park, Wyoming
5. The Needles, California
6. Climbs near the Whitney Portal, California
7. Little Egypt near Bishop, California
8. Upper Park Rock near Monticello, New Mexico
9. Ruby Mountains, Nevada
10. Portage near Anchorage, Alaska
11. The Dikes near Dayton, Washington
12. Upper Park Rock, New Mexico
13. Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah

What’s next?

The USDA is accepting public comments on its rescission proposal through September 19. In the first 10 days, more than 60,000 comments were received.

After the initial public comment period, the USDA will release a draft environmental impact statement (EIS), followed by a longer public comment period.

Climbers can also send comments through Access Fund’s simplified tool.