USDA Sets Roadless Rule Repeal in Motion ft. Trout Unlimited and National Park Staff Unionize - Public Lands News (August 25 - 29)

This week on Public Lands News, we’re covering staffing crises, forest protections, and union victories, including:

• National Park Service Staffing Crisis continues — closures, delayed responses, and what it means for visitors

• USDA Move to Rescind the Roadless Rule (21-day comment period) — with Corey Fisher, Trout Unlimited

• Yosemite & Sequoia-Kings Canyon Park Workers Unionize

• Court Orders Closure of “Alligator Alcatraz” ICE Detention Center in the Everglades

Link to Federal Register to Comment on the Roadless Rule: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/29/2025-16581/special-areas-roadless-area-conservation-national-forest-system-lands

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Sources referenced in this episode:

• National Parks Conservation Association: https://www.npca.org/articles/10343-shuttered-visitor-centers-closed-campgrounds-slower-emergency-response
  

  USDA / Roadless Rule:

• USDA Secretary Rollins Opens Next Step in Roadless Rule Rescission: https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2025/08/27/secretary-rollins-opens-next-step-roadless-rule-rescission

• Roadless Rule Impact Map: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/7308297f88484984a5ee5bcf2d5ae6b4/

• NFFE / National Park Unionization: https://nffe.org/press-release/workers-at-yosemite-sequoia-kings-canyon-national-parks-organize-a-union-under-nffe/
  ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Must Close, But the Fight Isn’t Over: https://grist.org/indigenous/alligator-alcatraz-must-close-but-the-fight-isnt-over/

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