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endangered species
Trump Killing Roadless Rule Would Put 400 Species on 'Extinction Fast Track,' Study Finds
"From the old-growth rainforests of Alaska's Tongass to the sky island ranges of the Southwest and the headwaters of the Appalachians, the most imperiled wildlife in America's national forests all need large, connected landscapes where nature's systems still function," the report reads. "The roadless rule has protected those landscapes since 2001."
The center found that if the rule ends, "7.4 million acres of designated critical habitat and nearly 1,800 miles of protected rivers and streams would be put at risk. This would pose a catastrophic threat to 88 federally protected animals and plants across the country with designated critical habitat in or affected by roadless areas, including grizzly bears, Canada lynxes, and native fish. Over 300 more species protected under the Endangered Species Act are found in roadless areas, but do not have designated protections for the places they live."
The document explains that road construction and logging don't just impact creatures on land. They also "cause significant soil erosion, sending sediment into waterways—raising water temperatures, smothering spawning beds, and degrading water quality downstream. This threatens imperiled aquatic life such as Chinook salmon, bull trout, candy darters, freshwater mussels, and frogs whose critical habitat may be outside roadless areas."
In addition to devastating already imperiled wildlife, from "Mexican spotted owls and Gila trout in the Southwest," to "rare butterflies and wildflowers nationwide," killing the roadless rule would have various other negative impacts, the analysis details. "Many roadless areas contain mature and old-growth forests that absorb and store vast amounts of carbon," and logging would release it, worsening the global climate emergency.
A Mexican spotted owl perches in a tree. (Phoo by Shaula Hedwall/US Fish and Wildlife Service)
The report also highlights that "national forests are the largest source of municipal drinking water in the United States, serving more than 60 million people in 33 states," and logging and road construction would increase pollution risks. Wildfire risk would also rise, the study stresses, citing research that found fires were four times as likely in areas with roads than in roadless forest.
The publication further points out that "the Forest Service manages approximately 370,000 miles of roads—roughly eight times the length of the nation’s Interstate Highway System—and faces a multibillion-dollar maintenance backlog. Expanding the road network into previously undeveloped areas would increase long-term infrastructure and maintenance costs paid by taxpayers."
Randi Spivak, the center's public lands policy director, said Wednesday that "our national forests are home to some of America's most iconic animals, from grizzlies to hellbenders. These forests provide clean drinking water to countless communities. Bulldozing more roads through them will mean dirtier water, fragmented wildlife habitat, and greater wildfire risk."
"For a generation, the roadless rule has kept our wildest places wild," Spivak said. If President Donald Trump "succeeds in scrapping it, he'll do irreversible damage to our wildlife, water, and the wild places that define the American landscape."
After Trump's agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, announced early last week that the Forest Service had filed a proposal to fully rescind the roadless rule, the administration on Friday took aim at another policy meant to protect public lands: the Travel Management Rule.
"This is yet another egregious attack in the systematic dismantling of public lands management of our national forests," declared Dan Hartinger, senior director for agency policy at the Wilderness Society. "Paired with the proposed repeal of the roadless rule, this destructive agenda sells out future generations' enjoyment of our forests in order to hand them over for corporate profits."
Thomas Delehanty, senior attorney with Earthjustice's Rocky Mountain Office, also blasted the administration for targeting the roadless rule and "attempting to open up our national forests to more off-road vehicle use that will degrade the landscape and disturb wildlife and other land users."
"Some places in our national forests are meant for quiet, undisturbed recreation and protecting sensitive wildlife, including endangered species," said Delehanty. "This rule would open all roads and trails to ORVs by default, meaning areas set aside for hiking, hunting, or horseback riding could soon be fair game to four-wheelers and dirt bikes."
The US Navy’s 'Killer' Submarine Is Participating in RIMPAC 2026
50% of the Participating Countries are Members or “Partners” of NATO, the NORTH ATLANTIC Treaty Organization
Interestingly, 50% of the participating countries are members or “partners” of NATO, the NORTH ATLANTIC Treaty Organization. Eight of the 10 NATO countries are from Europe: Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Canada is the only other NATO member from the Western Hemisphere, along with, of course, the host country, the United States.
Five of the 6 NATO “partners” have Pacific Ocean coasts: Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Korea, and Colombia.
Israel Is Participating and Weaving Itself Into the Fabric and Organization of the US Military
Invited from its wars in the Middle East, Israel, the US partner in the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank, the destruction of southern Lebanon, and the war on Iran, will also have a presence in RIMPAC as it continues to weave itself into the fabric of the US military.
Although RIMPAC has not specified what the role of the Israeli military delegation is, one can surmise that its members will act as liaison officers, planners, observers, or staff officers participating in command-and-control and multinational planning activities and giving lessons learned in the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
40 Ships, 200 Aircraft, 25,000 Personnel, and 5 Submarines
40 military ships, including 13 from the US, 200 aircraft, 25,000 military personnel, and five Submarines will practice their violent mission of war in this year’s RIMPAC, which will include live fire and bombings on the Pohakuloa range on the Big Island of Hawaii, sinking a large retired US navy ship off the island of Kauai and amphibious landings on the turtle hatching beach of Bellows on the island of Oahu.
Harm to marine mammals created by the large numbers of ships continues to be a major concern. The numbers of “takes” or deaths of marine mammals allowed by the US government permits are horrendous.
US Navy at Pearl Harbor Involved in the US-Israeli War on Iran
On February 28, 2026, the Trump administration allowed itself to get suckered into joining Israel in attacking Iran. The massive bombings and missile attacks from the US and Israel assassinated the Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and many other senior Iranian officials on the first day of the war on Iran.
Also killed on February 28, 2026, the first day of the US-Israeli attack on Iran, were 156 civilians, including 120 school children when a US missile destroyed the Shajareh Tayyebe Elementary School school in Minab, southern Iran.
USS Charlotte, the US Navy Submarine in RIMPAC, That Sunk an Iranian Ship 2,000 Miles from Iran
One of the five submarines in 2026 RIMPAC is the US Navy’s USS Charlotte.
On March 4, 2026, five days after the US-Israel war on Iran began, the USS Charlotte torpedoed and sunk the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in international waters 19 nautical miles off the southern tip of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean.
The USS Charlotte torpedoing of the Dena killed 104 Iranian sailors. At the time of the attack, Dena had a crew of 136 personnel and only 32 survived. According to reports, the remains of 20 of the deceased were not recovered.
It is the only instance since World War II in which a United States Navy submarine sank a surface vessel using torpedoes.
The Iranian ship was 2,300 miles from Iran having participated in the multilateral naval exercise MILAN 2026, in February 2026, and in the International Fleet Review 2026, held at the Indian port of Visakhaptnam.
The US sent US Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Steve Koehler, the highest-ranking naval officer in the Pacific Command, to the International Fleet Review. Ironically, a US Navy release revealed that a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft took part and conducted anti-submarine warfare drills with other participating forces in MILAN 2026.
The United States Navy was to have sent the Arleigh Burke Class guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG-91), but participation was cancelled at the last minute for “undisclosed operational reasons.”
According to an article in The Maritime Executive written before the US-Israeli war on Iran started, the Indian military was probably not concerned about the lack of US participation, “as the It would have been embarrassing for the Indian hosts to have had Pinckney moored alongside IRINS Dena, should war have broken out with Iran during the period of the fleet review.”
After the USS Charlotte sunk the Dena, India allowed Iranian warship IRIS Lavan to dock at the port of Kochi on March, 4 2026 with its 183-member crew housed at naval facilities. Sri Lanka allowed another Iranian warship IRIS Bushehr, to dock at Trincomalee port and housed its 208-member crew at the naval camp on March 5, 2026.
India's former chief of naval staff, Admiral Arun Prakah, commented: "It’s a bit of treachery of the US to attend a peaceful function side-by-side with Iranian navy, where there’s a lot of camaraderie, and then the moment the Iranian ship pops out of harbour, it’s sunk... They could have delayed this action to spare India this embarrassment."
That comment, and India allowing one Iranian ship to seek safe harbor in an Indian port after the USS Charlotte torpedoed the IRIS Dena, is probably the reason why the massive US military unified command “Indo-Pacific Command,” and host of RIMPAC, recently dropped “Indo” from its name and is now called the “Pacific Command,” even though its area of responsibility still includes the Indian subcontinent.
The US Central command said that the US has now sunk and destroyed 60 Iranian naval vessels.
Another Tragedy Involving Another US Submarine Homeported at Pearl Harbor
However, those of us who live in Hawaii and those from Japan remember another tragic incident with a US submarine homeported in Pearl Harbor.
On February 9, 2001, the US Navy’s USS Greenville conducted an “emergency” surfacing with 16 VIP civilians onboard as a part of the US Navy's Distinguished Visitor Embarkation (DVE) program. The USS Greeneville came up under the Japanese student training vessel Ehime Maru, 9 nautical miles off the island of Oahu, breaking the hull of the ship which quickly sank. Thirty-five people were aboard the Ehime Maru, of which 26 were rescued, one with serious injuries. Nine were killed, four high school students, two teachers, and three crew members, with US Navy and Japanese divers retrieving 8 of the 9 bodies from the sunken vessel which was raised from the ocean floor during October 2001.
Thankfully, the USS Greeneville is not participating in RIMPAC 2026 and is now homeported in San Diego.
Citizens Protest RIMPAC
Each edition of RIMPAC is protested by citizens in Hawaii. On June 24 a spirited ceremony and procession preceded the protest at the gates of the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor.
Numerous persons will be at the gates of Pearl Harbor over the next weeks to continue the challenge to the war practice called RIMPAC.
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