Ojai backcountry. Photo courtesy of Los Padres ForestWatch.
CENTRAL COAST — With the closing of the final public comment period last week, more than 1.6 million people—including more than one thousand Central Coast residents—voiced their support for keeping the Roadless Rule in place. The rule — which the Trump administration is proposing to repeal—protects some of the country’s last intact backcountry forests, including 635,106 acres across 37 inventoried roadless areas in Los Padres National Forest.
The latest comment period on the Trump administration’s proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule closed October 6.
A new analysis by the Center for Western Priorities found that 99.1% of the 370,238 comments publicly posted to the Forest Service docket opposed repeal. The publicly posted docket does not necessarily represent every individual comment or petition signature submitted to the agency; many submissions are bundled into attachments or collected through advocacy organizations before being transmitted to the Forest Service.
“The Forest Service asked for public input, and the public gave it a very clear answer,” said Benjamin Pitterle, director of advocacy and field operations at Los Padres ForestWatch. “People don’t want to see their public lands carved up by new roads. And that agreement extends well beyond conservation organizations. Firefighters, hunters, and fishing groups are also speaking up for keeping these places intact.”
Here on the Central Coast, Los Padres ForestWatch helped organize a broad regional response to the proposal. During the campaign, ForestWatch helped generate more than 1,400 public comments, mailed more than 550 postcards, hosted six town halls across the region, and submitted an official letter signed by 23 Central Coast organizations.
Beyond these regional efforts, ForestWatch joined conservation organizations nationwide in submitting a 250-page technical letter detailing concerns with the proposed repeal and helping build the administrative record that could become important if the final rule ischallenged in court. Separately, 127 outdoor businesses signed a letter supporting the Roadless Rule, including Patagonia, Toad&Co, Utu Skincare, and REI, underscoring the importance of intact public lands to recreation and the outdoor economy.
Elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels also voiced strong support for the Roadless Rule. California Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff co-led a California congressional letter defending the rule, while Representatives Julia Brownley, Salud Carbajal, Jimmy Panetta, and Zoe Lofgren signed onto two separate congressional letters opposing the proposed repeal. At the state level, ForestWatch mobilized the California Legislative Central Coast Caucus—including Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón, Senator John Laird, and Assemblymembers Dawn Addis, Steve Bennett, and Gregg Hart—to submit a letter opposing the rollback. The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA), Santa Barbara County Supervisor Joan Hartmann, and the cities of Ojai and Thousand Oaks also weighed in against the repeal.
The Forest Service must now review and respond to substantive comments and determine whether to finalize, modify, or withdraw the repeal. If the agency moves forward, ForestWatch and conservation partners will review the final decision and be ready to defend the roadless rule through various channels.
About Los Padres ForestWatch
Los Padres ForestWatch is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that protects wildlife, water, wilderness, and sustainable access throughout Los Padres National Forest and Carrizo Plain National Monument through advocacy, education, and community engagement. Follow ForestWatch on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Bluesky. Learn more at forestwatch.org