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yesterday

Trump Administration Plans to End Protections on 59 Million Acres of National Forests

A formal notice to rescind the 2001 rule will launch rulemaking to expand logging access on untamed lands, prompting environmental groups to file lawsuits.

FILE - Wrangler Doug Washburn, of Crested Butte, Colo. overlooks aspen trees with their autumn colors, near Jacks Cabin in the Slate River Valley near Crested Butte, Colo. while gathering the Spann cattle from the U.S. National Forest lands, Oct. 5, 2007. (AP Photo/Nathan Bilow, File)
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Overview

  • Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced on June 23 that the USDA will move to repeal the Roadless Rule protecting nearly 59 million acres at a Western Governors Association meeting in New Mexico.
  • The rollback would lift prohibitions on road construction, reconstruction and timber harvest across about 30 percent of National Forest System lands, including 28 million acres in high wildfire–risk zones.
  • Administration officials argue local forest managers will gain flexibility to reduce fire danger and that increased timber activity will boost forestry-dependent rural economies.
  • Environmental organizations from the Wilderness Society to the Center for Western Priorities warn the change threatens ecosystems, wildlife habitats and drinking watersheds and have vowed immediate legal challenges.
  • USDA says a formal notice will be published in the coming weeks to begin the rulemaking process, setting the stage for a high-stakes policy battle over federal land use.