Trump moves ahead with plans to scrap roadless rule on national forests

Key Points:

• The Trump administration is moving forward with plans to rescind the 2001 roadless rule, which restricts logging, road building, and development on about 59 million acres of national forest lands, citing the need to improve forest health and reduce wildfire risks.
• The U.S. Forest Service argues that the rule is a one-size-fits-all restriction that has hindered local forest managers from addressing overgrown forests, insect outbreaks, and disease that contribute to wildfires.
• Environmental groups strongly oppose the rescission, warning it would harm old growth forests, wildlife, and water supplies, and could lead to increased wildfires and loss of public land protections.
• The proposal has sparked particular concern over areas like Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, where previous attempts to lift restrictions on logging and road-building have been controversial and later reversed by the Biden administration.
• Public comments on the proposal are being accepted until September 21, with environmentalists and some fiscal conservatives pledging to oppose the change due to ecological and budgetary concerns.