The Trump administration took a step toward rescinding a decades-old rule that protects undeveloped forests on Tuesday in a move it says will help manage wildfire risk, but which environmental groups oppose, saying it would do the opposite. President Donald Trump has rolled back environmental regulations and taken land out of conservation for purposes such as energy extraction. …Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in the release that rescinding the rule would improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk. “Today, we filed a proposal to restore authority to local forest managers who know the land best, removing the barriers that have kept them from doing the work the land demands,” she said. Environmental groups argue that rescinding the rule would increase wildfire risk by exposing more forest land to human activity.
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- Brian Mann in NPR: Trump moves to open untouched national forests to logging
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- Center for Biological Diversity: Trump Moves to Kill Roadless Rule in Biggest Assault on Forest Protections in U.S. History
- Ishan Thakore in CPR News: Trump Administristration moves to kill ‘roadless rule,’ but Colorado has its own protections