Brooke Rollins

Following the US Department of Agriculture’s rescission of a longstanding rule that protects thousands of acres of national forests against logging, experts say that the repeal would not only damage natural beauty, but also ignores the interests of Midwest residents and industries. …“This rollback of the rule harms all of the other uses of the national forests besides timber. It’s going to result in less wildlife habitat, less recreational opportunities for the American people, more sediment loading to surface waters. It’s just harmful all the way around, unless you’re in the logging industry or forest products industry,” said Andy Olsen, senior policy advocate at the Environmental Law and Policy Center. The rule still has to go through administrative procedures such as a public comment period and congressional hearings before it is officially repealed.