Brooke Rollins

The Trump administration is rolling back a landmark conservation rule from the Clinton era that prevents roadbuilding and logging on roughly 58 million acres of federal forest and wildlands. The announcement rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule comes as the Forest Service is under orders by President Trump to increase logging and thinning in forests to address the wildfire threat. Environmentalists have already indicated they’ll sue to prevent its reversal, however. After Clinton enacted the rule at the end of his term in 2001, it effectively created de facto wilderness protections for scores of forests in the West and Alaska. …Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said, “This misguided rule prohibits the Forest Service from thinning and cutting trees to prevent wildfires and when fires start, the rule limits our firefighters’ access to quickly put them out.” Environmentalists counter that wildfires are more likely to occur in forests that have been developed with roads and other infrastructure.

Related coverage in:

• USDA: Rollins Rescinds Roadless Rule, Eliminating Impediment to Responsible Forest Management
• The Colorado Sun: Colorado forest under threat after Trump reverses rule
• Anchorage Daily News: Trump’s move sets stage for expanded harvests
• Santa Fe New Mexican: Rollins announcement opens up federal lands to construction, harvesting