Roadless Rule Repeal: 5 U.P. Tracts, Comments Due Oct 6

There are five patches of national forest in the Upper Peninsula where building a new road is off the table, with limited exceptions, such as protecting public safety from an imminent threat of flood or fire. Four of them are in the Hiawatha: Delirium, Fibre, Government Island and Round Island. The fifth is Norwich Plains, in the Ottawa, out in the western U.P. Bridge Michigan puts the Hiawatha’s share at 7,846 acres and the Ottawa’s at 4,360. That is 12,206 acres by our own addition.

One regulation does all of that work, the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. On Aug. 20 the U.S. Department of Agriculture published a proposal to rescind it.

What the rule actually bans

The Federal Register notice describes the 2001 rule as having “established broad prohibitions on road construction, road reconstruction, and timber harvesting within inventoried roadless areas on National Forest System lands.” That is the extent of it. It is not a wilderness designation and it is not a ban on managing the woods. Prescribed burns and some tree removal are typically allowed under it.

The deadline moved, and some coverage never caught up

Stories published as late as Sept. 14, including a Wisconsin Public Radio piece the Iron Mountain Daily News reprinted, gave Sept. 21 as the day comments closed. That date has come and gone, and it was never the real one. A Federal Register notice published Sept. 11 extended the comment period by 15 days, and says comments “must be received by October 6, 2026.” If you read that you had missed your chance, you have until Oct. 6.

What Washington says the repeal is for

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins framed it around fire and forest health when the proposal was announced on Aug. 18. “For too long, outdated restrictions have kept tens of millions of forested acres off-limits to the very treatments that improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk to our communities,” she said. Nationally the rule covers nearly 45 million acres of National Forest System land, by the Forest Service’s own count.

Timber people say it barely registers

That argument lands differently in Michigan, where the acreage is tiny and the industry is not asking for the repeal. “Right now we don’t see rescinding the roadless rule having an impact on our industry,” Henry Schienebeck of the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association told Wisconsin Public Radio, talking about Wisconsin’s industry. Bill Cook, who edits Michigan Forests magazine, told Bridge Michigan the same thing in different words: “It’s an infinitesimally small part of Michigan’s forests.”

He is right about the proportion. Michigan’s three national forests hold roughly 16,000 inventoried roadless acres between them, and 3,915 of those are Bear Swamp in the Huron-Manistee, down in the Lower Peninsula. Everything else is up here.

How to comment before Oct. 6

Comments go to Regulations.gov under docket FS-2025-0001, or search the rule number RIN 0596-AD66. The proposed rule and the draft environmental impact statement are posted in the same docket. By post, the address on the notice is Director, Ecosystem Management Coordination, 201 14th Street SW, Mailstop 1108, Washington, DC 20250-1124. The deadline is Oct. 6, 2026.

Sources

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, “Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation,” proposed rule, Federal Register, Aug. 20, 2026, and the comment-period extension published Sept. 11, 2026. USDA news release, Aug. 18, 2026. U.S. Forest Service roadless areas page. Bridge Michigan, Sept. 11, 2026, for the per-forest acreage and the names of the five areas. Michigan Advance, Aug. 20, 2026. Wisconsin Public Radio, reprinted in The Daily News, Iron Mountain, Sept. 14, 2026. The 12,206-acre figure is our own addition of the Hiawatha and Ottawa totals.

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Sources, credits, and reporting details

Sources & accountability

How this story was reported

Editorial methodAggregation

Last verifiedSep. 26, 2026

Corrections statusNo material correction note is recorded on this article.

AI assistanceResearched and drafted with AI tools. Reviewed and approved by editor Keegan O’Brien.

Verification note: Sources re-read Sept. 26, 2026. The description of the rule's exceptions now matches the regulation, and the Rollins quote runs in full.

Primary sources

1. Groups fight to keep 16,000 acres of national forest in Michigan road-free — Bridge Michigan

   Published Sep. 11, 2026. Accessed Sep. 26, 2026.

   Supports: Five U.P. roadless areas: Delirium, Fibre, Government Island, Round Island (Hiawatha, 7,846 acres) and Norwich Plains (Ottawa, 4,360 acres). 12,206 is our own addition.

   "7,846 acres in the Hiawatha National Forest with the Delirium, Fibre, Government Island and Round Island roadless areas" / "4,360 acres with the Norwich Plains roadless area in the Ottawa National Forest"

2. Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation (proposed rule) — Federal Register / USDA Forest Service

   Published Aug. 20, 2026. Accessed Sep. 26, 2026.

   Supports: USDA published the proposal to rescind the 2001 rule on Aug. 20; quoted description of the rule; docket FS-2025-0001, RIN 0596-AD66.

   "is proposing to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule (2001 Roadless Rule), which established broad prohibitions on road construction, road reconstruction, and timber harvesting within inventoried roadless areas on National Forest System lands."

3. Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation (extension of comment period) — Federal Register / USDA Forest Service

   Published Sep. 11, 2026. Accessed Sep. 26, 2026.

   Supports: Comment period extended 15 days; comments must be received by Oct. 6, 2026.

   "Comments on the proposed rule published August 20, 2026 (91 FR 53827), must be received by October 6, 2026."

4. USDA acts to remove roadless rule restrictions that exacerbate rising wildfire risk — USDA

   Published Aug. 18, 2026. Accessed Sep. 26, 2026.

   Supports: Secretary Brooke Rollins quote, Aug. 18.

   "For too long, outdated restrictions have kept tens of millions of forested acres off-limits to the very treatments that improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk to our communities."

5. Roadless Areas — USDA Forest Service

   Accessed Sep. 26, 2026.

   Supports: Nationally the rule covers nearly 45 million acres.

   "Today, the 2001 Roadless Rule applies to nearly 45 million acres of National Forest System lands, including in Alaska."

6. As plan to repeal Roadless Rule advances, stakeholders skeptical Wisconsin will benefit — Wisconsin Public Radio

   Published Sep. 11, 2026. Accessed Sep. 26, 2026.

   Supports: Henry Schienebeck, Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association, quote about Wisconsin industry.

   "Right now we don't see rescinding the roadless rule having an impact on our industry."

Additional reporting

1. Groups fight to keep 16,000 acres of national forest in Michigan road-free — Bridge Michigan

   Published Sep. 11, 2026. Accessed Sep. 26, 2026.

   Supports: Prescribed burns and some tree removal are typically allowed under the rule.

   "prescribed burns and some tree removal are typically allowed under the Roadless Rule"

2. Groups fight to keep 16,000 acres of national forest in Michigan road-free — Bridge Michigan

   Published Sep. 11, 2026. Accessed Sep. 26, 2026.

   Supports: Bill Cook quote; Michigan holds roughly 16,000 roadless acres, 3,915 of them Bear Swamp in the Huron-Manistee.

   "It's an infinitesimally small part of Michigan's forests," said Bill Cook, editor of Michigan Forests magazine. / "3,915 acres in the Huron-Manistee National Forest with the Bear Swamp roadless area"

3. Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation (extension of comment period) — Federal Register / USDA Forest Service

   Published Sep. 11, 2026. Accessed Sep. 26, 2026.

   Supports: Mailing address for comments.

   "Director, Ecosystem Management Coordination, 201 14th Street SW, Mailstop 1108, Washington, DC 20250-1124"

4. 36 CFR 294.12 (2001 Roadless Rule text) — U.S. Government Publishing Office

   Accessed Sep. 26, 2026.

   Supports: Road building banned with limited exceptions, such as an imminent threat of flood or fire.

   "A road is needed to protect public health and safety in cases of an imminent threat of flood, fire, or other catastrophic event that, without intervention, would cause the loss of life or property"

5. Plan to repeal national forest roadless rule under scrutiny (WPR reprint) — The Daily News, Iron Mountain

   Published Sep. 14, 2026. Accessed Sep. 26, 2026.

   Supports: Coverage as late as Sept. 14 still gave Sept. 21 as the deadline.

   "A 30-day public comment period on the current proposal and the draft environmental impact statement is now open until Sept. 21."

6. Proposed repeal of Roadless Rule could open Michigan national forests to logging, roadbuilding — Michigan Advance

   Published Aug. 20, 2026. Accessed Sep. 26, 2026.

   Supports: Same-day coverage of the proposal (named in the sources line).

   "restricts road construction and timber harvesting in designated roadless areas"

Photo and media credits

1. Govt Island Les Cheneaux (featured image, media 2910) — Wikimedia Commons / TheCharlevoix

   Featured image record. Published May. 8, 2022. Accessed Sep. 26, 2026. CC0.

   Supports: Featured image: Government Island in the Les Cheneaux group.

   Author, licence and size read from the Commons API Sep 26: 1119×839, CC0. Credited in caption.

2. Teal Canoe Landing – Ottawa National Forest, Michigan (media 2911) — Wikimedia Commons / Tony Webster

   Published Oct. 1, 2016. Accessed Sep. 26, 2026. CC BY-SA 2.0.

   Supports: Body image: Ottawa National Forest sign at Teal Canoe Landing.

   Commons API Sep 26: Tony Webster, CC BY-SA 2.0. Credited in caption.

3. Mink Lake Fall Colors – Ottawa National Forest (media 2912) — Wikimedia Commons / Tony Webster

   Published Oct. 1, 2016. Accessed Sep. 26, 2026. CC BY-SA 2.0.

   Supports: Body image: Mink Lake, Ottawa National Forest.

   Commons API Sep 26: Tony Webster, CC BY-SA 2.0. Credited in caption.

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