Episode 182: Millions Upon Millions of Acres on the Chopping Block – How to Save the Roadless Rule
August 28, 2026
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Chris Wood, Trout Unlimited president and CEO
Summary
Chris Wood, president and CEO of Trout Unlimited and an original architect of the 2001 Roadless Rule, speaks with Rewilding Earth Podcast host Jack Humphrey about the origins of the Roadless Rule and why rescinding it is a problem for trout and salmon. With the imminent threat of deregulation for nearly 45 million acres of public land, Chris outlines the ecological necessity, common sense economics, and history behind protecting backcountry watersheds. Together, Chris and Jack bust common myths around wildfire access and timber value, explore why intact landscapes are vital for native fish, and call on anglers, hunters, and conservationists to submit public comments before the September 21 deadline.
Key Talking Points
- Origins of the Roadless Rule: How a dedicated U.S. Forest Service team built a legally resilient framework in just 18 months to protect 58.5 million acres.
- Maintenance Backlog: With 370,000 miles of existing roads and an $8.6 billion repair backlog, adding more roads is a fiscal disaster.
- Debunking Myths: Roadless areas remain open to multiple uses and fuels management, while new roads actually increase human-caused fire risks.
- Coldwater Strongholds: Intact roadless areas shelter more than 70 percent of critical habitat for native bull trout, cutthroat, and wild salmon runs.
- The Power of Public Comments: Submitting personalized stories builds the legal record necessary to win in court and reinstate protections.
- Restoration in Action: How Trout Unlimited pairs policy advocacy with boots-on-the-ground work, like culvert replacements and thermal tree planting.
Extra Credit
- The Roadless Rule: By the numbers (Roadless Rule Area Map and Public Comment Guide, onX)
- Timeline of the Roadless Rule (Earthjustice)
- Defend the Roadless Rule (roadless.org)
- Chris Wood cautions Congress: Eliminating the Roadless Rule would upend 25 years of balanced public land management (Trout Unlimited)
- Roadless areas: Defending America’s sporting lands (Trout Unlimited)
- Defend America’s backcountry forests: Protect the Roadless Rule (Outdoor Alliance)
- Trump administration proposes to eliminate protections for 45 million acres of roadless lands within the national forest system (Rewilding Institute)
- Visit the Trout Unlimited website
Director of Digital Outreach (D.O.D.O.) for The Rewilding Institute
Host and Producer of the Rewilding Earth Podcast
Jack started Rewilding work as Executive Director of Sky Island Alliance in the mid-1990’s, organizing the Sky Island Wildlands Network design, ripping up illegal roads on forest service lands, installing wolf acclimatization pens on Ted Turner’s Ladder Ranch & conducting howling surveys to help make way for the final stage of the Lobo reintroduction program in the Southwest.
Through the years, Jack has worked with Dave Foreman and the Rewilding Gang to further Rewilding initiatives and education.