The USDA has proposed repealing the 2001 Roadless Rule — the policy that’s kept roads, logging and mining out of 45 million acres of national forest for 25 years. Nearly 10 million of those acres are in Montana and Wyoming.
The public comment period closes September 21, 2026. Thirty days. No public meetings. For comparison: the original rule took years, 600 public hearings and 1.6 million comments.
Greater Yellowstone Coalition Executive Director Scott Christensen joins us to explain what’s actually in the proposal, what the government admits in its own filing, and what a public comment does when everyone assumes the outcome is already decided.
Then we play Best Damn Comment Period — Scott grades quality public comments against, let’s say, less effective alternatives.
What makes a comment count: name a specific place you use, describe how this would affect you, and make a concrete ask. Scott’s biggest one in this episode: the proposal contains almost nothing analyzing impacts to wildlife, drinking water or backcountry recreation. Ask for that analysis.
Learn more here: GreaterYellowstone.org/
Direct link to comment (by 11:59pm on September 21, 2026):
https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/FS-2025-0001-223869
Note: comments are part of the public record — your name and comment become publicly viewable.
Read the proposal, the draft EIS, and view the interactive map: fs.usda.gov/managing-land/planning/roadless
Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/roadless
And take advantage of the first climate-controlled storage opportunity in Big Sky! BigSkyStorage.com/
