US seeks to permit logging, road building in pristine forests

The Trump administration has put forward a proposal that could open more than 17 million hectares of U.S. forests to logging and road construction. This move aims to revoke a 2001 law that prohibits development in large tracts of public forests and grasslands designated as "inventoried roadless areas."

Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture, stated that the "Roadless Area Conservation Rule" has prevented the U.S. Forest Service from undertaking management activities crucial for reducing wildfire risks. She argued that outdated restrictions have kept millions of acres of forest from treatments that would improve forest health and lower fire danger for communities.

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For too long, outdated restrictions have kept tens of millions of acres of forests out of reach of treatments that improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk for our communities.

Over 95% of these roadless areas are located in ten western U.S. states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Conservation organizations reacted with outrage, anticipating legal battles.

Randi Spivack, director of public lands policy at the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), condemned the proposal, calling it "the largest evisceration of public land protections in U.S. history and against what Americans want." CBD highlighted that these areas are vital for species like grizzly bears and lynx, and noted that most wildfires are human-caused and occur near roads. The administration's stance contrasts with actions needed to combat climate change, which exacerbates wildfire frequency and severity due to warmer, drier conditions.

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Trump is pushing the largest evisceration of public land protections in U.S. history and against what Americans want.