Yes.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture in June 2025 announced plans to rescind the “Roadless Rule,” which prohibits road-building and logging across 58.5 million acres of national forests nationwide. That includes 1.1 million acres in Arizona.
Enacted in 2011, the rule aimed to preserve portions of the National Forest System by keeping them free from road construction and other major development. In Arizona, protected areas span parts of the Coconino, Kaibab, Prescott, Tonto, Apache-Sitgreaves and Coronado national forests.
Environment Arizona, a research and policy center, notes that these lands provide crucial conservation areas for endangered species such as the Mexican spotted owl, Apache trout and jaguar.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
Sources
- Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation; National Forest System Lands, Federal Register
- Roadless Areas, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Inventoried Roadless Areas, U.S. Forest Service Enterprise Map Services Program
- What the Roadless Rule means for Arizona, Environment Arizona
- Public Comment, Regulations.gov
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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is partnering with Gigafact to produce timely fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
