Photo of Sycamore Canyon Wilderness by Brady Smith, Coconino National Forest
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has proposed repealing the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation, with public comments due by September 21, 2026. Keep Sedona Beautiful urges you to oppose this change.
The Roadless Rule protects nearly 1.2 million acres in Arizona, including roughly 140,000 acres on the Prescott National Forest and about 50,000 acres on the Coconino National Forest. These are the backcountry lands that surround residential areas in the Verde Valley.
USFS argues that repeal is needed to fight wildfire, noting that more than 40% of roadless areas carry high or very high fire hazard and that only 5% have received fuel treatments since 2014. But the Roadless Rule does not prevent this, as it currently allows fuel-reduction work near communities. In fact, a report by Trout Unlimited notes that the U.S. Forest Service has actively used these exemptions to mitigate fire risk, completing hazardous fuel treatments on nearly 2 million acres of roadless lands.
A study in the journal Fire Ecology found that between 1992 – 2024, wildfires were four times more likely to ignite within 50 meters of a road than in a forest without routes for motor vehicles. More roads will likely mean more fires, not fewer.
Please consider submitting a comment before September 21 asking the Forest Service to keep the 2001 Roadless Rule in place.