Local communities defend Los Padres National Forest against federal attacks

It’s rare that 95 percent of people support anything, especially when it comes to environmental laws, but the Roadless Rule is a special case. After 600 public meetings and 1.6 million people submitting comments, 95 percent of commenters supported this landmark environmental law to protect areas of our national forests from logging. 

This public democratic process was the most extensive public review ever conducted by a federal agency. When the rule passed in 2001, it demonstrated that the vast majority of Americans value public forests over corporate profits. 

So naturally, a year ago, the Trump administration announced that it was revoking the Roadless Rule, without any public hearings, demonstrating yet again that it favors corporate profits over the democratic public process and public and environmental health.

Revoking the Roadless Rule would threaten communities across the country, critical wildlife habitat, clean drinking water, old forests, and the outdoor spaces that millions of people rely on. The rule was established to protect areas of national forests without roads and keep them roadless (with some exceptions). It restricts logging and road construction across 58.5 million acres of national forests across the country. 

At first glass, the concept seems controversial, but support for it has only grown over the 27 years since the rule was implemented. It has been widely supported by stakeholders, including the outdoor recreation industry, hunters and anglers, scientists, conservationists, economists, state fish and game agencies, and elected officials.

If you’ve spent time hiking, biking, fishing, or exploring our national forests, chances are you’ve been in a protected roadless area. They are the scenic backdrops for iconic trails to mountain peaks, waterfalls, canyon bottoms, and fishing holes, including the Continental Divide Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Appalachian Trail. 

Building roads through roadless areas for logging, drilling, mining, and industrial exploitation is also an invitation for wildfires. More roads equal more fires. Per the Wilderness Society, wildfires are four times more likely to start in roaded areas than in roadless forest tracts. 

Rescinding the Roadless Rule would be bad news across the country, but it would be a disaster for the Central Coast. 

“Los Padres National Forest includes 600,000 to 635,106 acres of designated roadless land across 35 to 37 distinct inventoried roadless areas, making it one of the most impacted forests under the proposed rollback,” said Jim Hines, the conservation chair for the Sierra Club Santa Barbara-Ventura Chapter. “These areas stretch across Santa Barbara, Ventura, Kern, San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties.”

More roads equal more fires. Per the Wilderness Society, wildfires are four times more likely to start in roaded areas than in roadless forest tracts. 

As the California Legislative Central Coast Caucus put it to the secretary of agriculture last September: “In the Los Padres National Forest, the roadless areas are essential to maintaining and supporting the outdoor recreation economy that draws people from around the world to the Central Coast. Close to a million people visit the forest annually, creating over $75 million in revenue every year. The forest also generates more than 1,500 jobs and $103.4 million in yearly income for wage earners and local businesses. Removing these protections for the Los Padres National Forest would be detrimental to our communities’ economic and environmental health.”

The Sierra Club is fighting to retain these invaluable forests—and the policies that protect them—on the Central Coast and across the country. Learn more at sc.org/forests.

We’re not alone, the California Legislature is fighting to bring access and funding for the outdoors to more communities. Senate Bill 1268 just passed the Assembly and is moving to the Senate for a vote. If it becomes law, it will ensure that all communities in the state have access to nature, parks, and open spaces, prioritize funding programs for park and open space development in park-poor communities and assist local and regional entities in bringing federal investments to California for outdoor space and acquisition, especially in underserved communities.

Local organizations are doing what the Trump administration refuses to do: host public town halls to bring in local voices. Eleven organizations, including the Sierra Club, Los Padres ForestWatch, and others, are hosting a San Luis Obispo Public Townhall: The Future of Our Wild Roadless Forests on June 24 starting at 5:30 p.m. at the SLO Oddfellows Hall. RSVP and find more info at: sc.org/sl-takeaction. We hope you can make it to learn more, share your perspectives, and take action to protect Los Padres National Forest and national forest lands across the country.

Local community members are powerful when we collaborate. Together we are pushing back against federal attempts to dismantle public democratic processes and attack our communities and our environment. ∆

Gianna Patchen is chapter coordinator for the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club. Andrew Christie served as chapter director from 2004 to 2023. Send a letter for publication to letters@newtimesslo.com.

This article appears in Winning Images 2026.