by Mike Koshmrl, WyoFile

Rep. Harriet Hageman wants to stop future administrations from reinstating a 25-year-old policy that prevents roadbuilding on 59 million acres of the national forest, including 3.3 million acres of federal land in Wyoming. 

A rescission of the Clinton-era 2001 Roadless Rule is already underway. In June 2025, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced her intention to repeal the “roadless” class of land that’s found on nine national forests in Wyoming. 

Subsequently, Rollins solicited public comment on that plan, which, based on the responses, is extraordinarily unpopular. More than 99% of the 200,000-plus people and groups who responded opposed the proposed rescission, according to a Center for Western Priorities analysis. 

A Hageman-led bill, House Resolution 7695, would codify the Trump administration’s undoing of the Roadless Rule in law and also prevent it from reappearing. The legislation states that any future secretary of agriculture “may not take any action to propose, finalize, implement, administer, or enforce any rule substantially similar to the rule.” 

On Thursday, Wyoming’s lone representative touted the bill at a congressional hearing, saying that it undoes an “environmental catastrophe.” 

“The Roadless Rule has been devastating to the Interior West,” Hageman testified to the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources’ Federal Lands Subcommittee. “The Roadless Rule has been devastating to Wyoming.” 

As an attorney a quarter century ago, Hageman was a staunch opponent of the Roadless Rule and litigated against it on behalf of Wyoming.

Hageman pointed out to her fellow members of Congress on Thursday that nine of the 10 “most catastrophic” national forest wildfires have occurred since the rule’s 2001 implementation. 

U.S. Forest Service Associate Chief Chris French testified that his agency supports the administration’s proposed rescission, along with Hageman’s legislation and he offered to provide “technical assistance” to help pass the bill.  

“The Forest Service is currently in the process of analyzing the more than 220,000 comments we received,” French told the subcommittee, “and anticipates issuing a final rule and draft environmental impact statement for public comment in the coming months.” 

Several Democrats who sit on the Subcommittee on Federal Lands expressed concern about Hageman’s bill. 

Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Oregon, who in 2025 attempted to codify keeping the Roadless Rule, argued that roadbuilding can lead to more wildfires. 

“The Forest Service’s own assessment found that building roads in these areas would actually increase the risk of fire,” Salinas said, “and another analysis shows that 85% of wildfires are human-caused.” 

A newly created logging road cuts into the Black Hills National Forest’s Bearlodge Ranger District in May 2026. (Mike Koshmrl/WyoFile)

Earlier, Hageman called the claim that eliminating the Roadless Rule would create more wildfires “absolutely wrong.” 

“The science and the facts and the history demonstrate, without question, that you are absolutely wrong,” Hageman said. 

But French, the Forest Service associate chief, acknowledged that it’s a “longstanding fact” that “most” wildfire ignitions are human-caused and “most are going to be associated with where humans go, including roads.” 

The equation, however, is not that straightforward, French said. Other research has found that wildfire severity is greater in “untreated” roadless areas, he said.

“You have to look at the whole scenario,” French said. “I think that’s why it’s often polarized. There are different facts you can pull out to support an opinion.” 

National hunting and angling groups have strongly opposed the elimination of the Roadless Rule, which has helped ensure that non-wilderness backcountry remains a part of national forests across the country. 

The idea of eliminating the rule also hasn’t gone over well with Wyoming conservation groups. 

Gabby Yates, public lands program manager at the Wyoming Outdoor Council, pointed out the unpopularity of Hageman’s plan.  

“By sidestepping the already scant public process that the administration is using to rescind the rule, H.R. 7695 adds insult to injury and ignores hundreds of thousands of Americans who are currently opposing the rescission,” Yates wrote in a statement. 

The rescission, however, has been favored by many Western state Republican political leaders hoping to stimulate withering timber mills and a logging industry that’s been in the doldrums for decades. Many governors and congressional members have gone on record supporting the elimination of the Roadless Rule, including Gov. Mark Gordon and Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis.   

Hageman, who in 2022 soundly defeated Liz Cheney with an endorsement from President Donald Trump, is running for a U.S. Senate seat that’s opening up due to Lummis’ retirement. 

In the Republican primary, she’ll face Sam Mead, a rancher and whiskey distiller who’s the nephew of former Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead and great-grandson of late Wyoming U.S. Sen. and Gov. Cliff Hansen. 

Mead, 36, is a political newcomer running on a pro-public lands platform. He did not respond to WyoFile’s inquiry on Thursday before this story was published.

This article was originally published by WyoFile and is republished here with permission. WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.

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