The United States Department of Agriculture is nearing a full repeal of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule that protects millions of acres of virgin forestland nationwide. In Virginia, if the rule is repealed it would open up an estimated 400,000 acres of forest, largely across the Shenandoah Valley region, to development. 

The Trump Administration has touted the move as a way to expand wildfire management and economic development to public lands.

“We filed a proposal to restore authority to local forest managers who know the land best, removing the barriers that have kept them from doing the work the land demands,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement on Tuesday.

The rule was created decades ago as a way to protect the least-developed portions of the National Forest System and aid in preserving wildlife, clean drinking water, recreation and old-growth forests. 

While wildfire management is necessary, groups like the Southern Environmental Law Center said there are already fire mitigation rules under the Roadless Rule that provide that guidance. 

Kristin Gendzier with the SELC also said that federal budget cuts to the U.S. Forest Service and reorganization of the agency contradict the administration’s stated goal of bolstering wildfire fighting capabilities.

“They’re ignoring the reality that more roads lead to more fires. Their own reports show that. They are glossing over their ability to put out fires and also to address fire risks that they already have under the roadless rule,” Gendzier said.

Groups like the SELC are concerned that increased development in these will lead to degradation of the natural environment and impact the watersheds that millions of people rely on for clean drinking water.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, has been a staunch supporter of the rule. He has sponsored legislation in the past attempting to codify the Roadless Rule protection into law, but the measures failed.

“I strongly oppose the Trump-Vance Administration’s rollback of this rule, which would open the door to more development and increased logging in our national forests,” Kaine said in a statement Wednesday. “I’ll keep working to protect our roadless areas, which support outdoor recreation, tourism, and local economic growth in communities across the country.”

Hundreds of thousands of comments flooded in during the first public comment period for the proposed rule change last fall. Citizens now have a final chance to weigh in with their support or opposition of the repeal of the 25-year-old rule, with the current public comment period ending Sept. 21.

Once the period ends, the USDA will have the authority to repeal the rule.