Forest Service Issues Official Notice of Intent Opening 30-Day Comment Period on Roadless Rule Rewrite — Where and How to Submit a Comment to Protect Public Lands

The U.S. Forest Service published an official Notice of Intent in the Federal Register on August 24, 2026, launching an urgent 30-day public comment window on a proposed rewrite of the Travel Management Rule (36 CFR 212). While conservation organizations like The Wilderness Society have framed the policy revision alongside ongoing attempts to dismantle the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule as a “one-two punch,” the Travel Management Rule rewrite represents an even more immediate threat to winter outdoor recreation. Where the Roadless Rule primarily restricts commercial logging and industrial road construction, the Travel Management Rule directly governs day-to-day motorized access, establishing legal boundaries for Over-Snow Vehicles (OSVs/snowmobiles) and Off-Highway Vehicles (OHVs) near backcountry ski zones, non-motorized trailheads, and quiet winter landscapes.

The formal publication opens a brief public comment window which closes on September 21, 2026. The move to rescind the Roadless Rule follows the Trump Administration’s June 2026 executive order revoking 50-year-old public land rules governing snowmobiles and off-road vehicles, a decision covered extensively in a previous SnowBrains June 2026 report. The current rulemaking also connects logically to broader federal policy shifts tracked over the past year, including public calls to defend 58 million acres of national forestland, initial moves to rescind the Roadless Rule, and USDA actions threatening 45 million forest acres nationwide.

At the core of the proposal (filed under Docket FS-2026-0100 on Regulations.gov) is a fundamental shift in how the Forest Service manages public land access. The agency plans to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that flips its long-standing framework on its head: instead of trails being “closed unless designated open,” the national default would become “open unless designated closed.” Under the current 2005 Travel Management Rule, local land managers are legally required to evaluate environmental impacts, wildlife disturbance, and user conflicts before opening a route to motorized use. The proposed rewrite would scrap those nationwide checks and bypass required public feedback during routine travel updates. That effectively flips the script, forcing understaffed local ranger districts to prove why a trail shouldn’t allow motorized traffic, rather than the other way around.

For human-powered skiers and splitboarders, the fallout of an “open-by-default” policy could hit close to home. Right now, Over-Snow Vehicle Use Maps (OSVUMs) draw clear lines between motorized snowmobile terrain and quiet backcountry touring zones. Opening routes by default threatens to bleed snowmobile traffic into delicate drainages, low-elevation touring corridors, and critical winter wildlife habitat. As Outdoor Alliance points out, stripping away user-conflict criteria means local managers could be forced to open cherished non-motorized trails to motorized vehicles without thorough environmental reviews or public input.

While current Motor Vehicle Use Maps and Over-Snow Vehicle Use Maps will stay in place during the multi-year process, things are moving quickly. The Forest Service expects to drop its draft proposed rule and EIS in spring 2027, with a final ruling targeted for early 2028. Outdoor groups stress that this initial 30-day window is the single most critical chance for skiers, splitboarders, and trail advocates to shape the outcome. Anyone wanting to weigh in can submit public comments directly on Regulations.gov under Docket FS-2026-0100 through September 21, 2026.