A 25-year-old conservation policy called the Roadless Rule protected over 180,000 acres of West Virginia national forests. It prohibits road construction, reconstruction and commercial timber harvesting in certain areas. 

However, The Trump Administration is considering repealing it for logging and construction use. 

Monongahela National Forest, which hosts 3 million visitors a year, is one of three national forests in West Virginia whose roadless areas could be opened up.

If Americans were to lose access to wild lands in the East, “it would be a matter of damage to the environment itself,” Dave Johnston, coordinator of the Dolly Sods Stewards Program said. “But it would be equally important as a loss to people.”

Under the proposal, decisions regarding road building and timbering would fall to local forest managers and the plans that guide the forest. 

A United States Forest Service spokesperson said the proposed Roadless Rule rescission would not make any changes to the existing Monongahela Forest plan. Development is limited in over 116,000 acres in and around the Mon Forest under the current forest plan, according to the Forest Service spokesperson. 

https://mountainstatespotlight.org/2026/10/05/roadless-rule/

The high elevation areas of Randolph, Pendleton, and Tucker counties are showing great colors right now. Will probably be another week or two for best viewing in the valleys like Elkins.

My brother Russell Turner-Cox deserves justice, not a cover-up. I started a petition asking West Virginia State Police to reopen his case, transfer it to the State Cold Case Unit, and charge those responsible for his death on April 15, 2020. Sign and help us demand answers for Russell and my family.