The Trump administration is moving forward with rescinding a two-decade-old rule that protects wild areas in national forests across the country, including nearly 2 million acres in Oregon, a move environmentalists say could open up the wilderness to logging and development.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that it will publish a notice of intent to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule in the Federal Register this Friday.

The notice will jump start a 21-day public comment period. The announcement follows the agency’s promise to roll back the rule earlier this year. The rule prohibits road construction, road upgrades and timber harvesting.

The rollback would apply to over 44 million acres of the nearly 60 million acres of roadless areas within the National Forest System

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