Pacific Crest Trail group opposes H.R. 7695

The Pacific Crest Trail Association is asking hikers and supporters to weigh in against a House bill that would scrap one of the federal government’s main protections for undeveloped national forest land. In a May 20 action alert, the group said H.R. 7695 would nullify the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule and put roadless sections of the Pacific Crest Trail corridor at risk. The association said the change would affect 71 Inventoried Roadless Areas along the trail and 231 miles of the 2,650-mile route. (pcta.org) Congress.gov says the bill was introduced on February 25 by Representative Harriet Hageman, a Wyoming Republican. (congress.gov) ### What is the Pacific Crest Trail group objecting to? H.R. 7695 would provide that the 2001 rule titled “Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation” “shall have no force or effect,” according to the bill text on Congress.gov. The measure also would require the Agriculture secretary to construct certain roads on National Forest System lands. The Pacific Crest Trail Association said the bill would “expedite” a broader push to undo the Roadless Rule, which it said protects 45 million acres of national forests. In the group’s telling, roadless protections help keep parts of the trail corridor free from new road construction tied to logging, mining and energy development. (pcta.org) ### Why is the group focused on roadless areas along the trail? The May 20 post says 71 Inventoried Roadless Areas intersect the Pacific Crest Trail and that those areas include 231 miles of the trail, or about 9% of its length. (congress.gov) The association said those lands provide “ecological integrity for wildlife,” clean air and water, and support for recreation economies. A separate PCTA post from 2025 made the same geographic case, saying the roadless rule protects trail-adjacent backcountry that would otherwise be opened to road building. (pcta.org) That earlier post linked the threat not only to access and scenery, but to the broader condition of undeveloped forest landscapes along the route. ### Who is behind H.R. 7695? Congress.gov lists Hageman as the sponsor of H.R. 7695 and shows the bill was introduced in the House on February 25, 2026. The bill page and introduced text also show four cosponsors at introduction: Representatives Troy Downing, Celeste Maloy, Pete Stauber and Tom Tiffany. (pcta.org) The bill’s formal title is broad but direct: it would void the 2001 roadless rule and require road construction in some national forest areas. Congress.gov listed the measure as introduced and had not shown it becoming law. ### What exactly is the Roadless Rule? (pcta.org) The 2001 Roadless Rule governs Inventoried Roadless Areas in the National Forest System and generally limits road building and timber harvesting in those areas, according to a Congressional Research Service report hosted on Congress.gov. CRS said those areas account for about 58.2 million acres of National Forest System land nationwide, though advocacy groups and current political messaging often cite lower figures for the acreage presently covered by the rule. (congress.gov) The Pacific Crest Trail Association’s current campaign uses the 45 million-acre figure and frames the issue around trail protection. (congress.gov) Congress’s bill text, by contrast, is written as a repeal measure and road-building directive rather than a trail-specific proposal. ### What happens next? The Pacific Crest Trail Association on May 20 directed supporters to contact members of Congress through its website and oppose H.R. 7695. Congress.gov shows the bill remains at the introduced stage in the 119th Congress, making House action the next formal step to watch. (congress.gov) (pcta.org)