Protect Wasatch Climbing: Defend the Roadless Rule
Utah’s roadless national forests — the places we climb, hike, ski, and find solitude — are facing a serious threat. The USDA has proposed rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule, a bedrock conservation policy that has protected 58.5 million acres of national forest land for more than two decades. If this rollback moves forward, many of Utah’s most beloved backcountry areas could be opened to road‑building, logging, and industrial development.
For Wasatch climbers, this isn’t abstract. Roadless areas include landscapes that shape our community’s identity: Big Cottonwood Canyon, Little Cottonwood Canyon, American Fork Canyon, Joe’s Valley, Logan Canyon, and so many more. These are the places where generations of climbers learned, explored, and built the culture we now carry forward.
The public comment period is open right now through October 6. It takes two minutes, and in a state with this much backcountry at stake, we want the Salt Lake and Utah climbing community to show up loud.
The Roadless Rule has worked for 23 years because it protects what makes these forests special:
intact wildlife habitat
clean drinking water
quiet recreation
undeveloped climbing landscapes
healthy forests that don’t require costly road maintenance
Rolling it back would put all of that at risk.
