Latest news with #roadlessrule
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration repeals Clinton-era rule in effort to reduce wildfires
SANTA FE, N.M. - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced plans on Monday to reverse a Clinton-era policy in an effort to reduce wildfires caused by a lack of forest management. The policy change was announced at the annual Western Governors Association meeting in New Mexico where Utah Gov. Spencer Cox was joined by six other state executives who had mixed reactions to the news. Western states will be disproportionately impacted by the repeal of the so-called 'roadless rule' established in 2001 by President Bill Clinton to block road building, mining and logging on 58 million acres of undeveloped national forest lands. Around 30% of the National Forest System falls under the rule, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But this number jumps to 50% in Utah, 45% in Idaho and 40% in Montana, 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,' Rollins said. Since implementation of the rule began, the area burned by wildfires each year has more than doubled from around 3 million acres to over 6 million acres, Rollins said. Her agency is currently monitoring 19 large fires across western states, Rollins said, including the Forsyth Fire in Pine Valley, Utah, which Cox visited on Sunday after it destroyed 13 homes. Rollins attributed this increase to the 'roadless rule' while Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, said the increase in wildfires has been caused by warming weather. 'Climate change is the biggest problem in fueling these damaging fires,' Grisham said to some applause. 'We can do climate mitigation and force health resilience and recovery.' Cox called the announcement 'really big news' for the state of Utah, which, unlike Colorado and Idaho, is not exempt from the restriction. For years, Utah has tried to do more to manage its national forests, including entering into a 'shared stewardship' agreement with the Trump administration, which was renewed under President Joe Biden, to treat thousands of acres of national forest lands. 'Utah has been really such a great model for this,' Rollins said. The work of periodically clearing underbrush and thinning trees was controversial where Utah tried it, Cox said, but doing so has resulted in saving 'an entire subdivision' of 50 homes in at least one instance of a wildfire in Utah. Managing forests actually results in cleaner watersheds and more wildlife, according to Cox, who called for additional federal funding for shared stewardship projects to clean out national forest lands. 'A good forest is like a garden,' Cox said. 'You actually have to tend it and take care of it, and if we do this the right way we can prevent fires and improve production.'
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration repeals Clinton-era rule in effort to reduce wildfires
SANTA FE, N.M. - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced plans on Monday to reverse a Clinton-era policy in an effort to reduce wildfires caused by a lack of forest management. The policy change was announced at the annual Western Governors Association meeting in New Mexico where Utah Gov. Spencer Cox was joined by six other state executives who had mixed reactions to the news. Western states will be disproportionately impacted by the repeal of the so-called 'roadless rule' established in 2001 by President Bill Clinton to block road building, mining and logging on 58 million acres of undeveloped national forest lands. Around 30% of the National Forest System falls under the rule, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But this number jumps to 50% in Utah, 45% in Idaho and 40% in Montana, 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,' Rollins said. Since implementation of the rule began, the area burned by wildfires each year has more than doubled from around 3 million acres to over 6 million acres, Rollins said. Her agency is currently monitoring 19 large fires across western states, Rollins said, including the Forsyth Fire in Pine Valley, Utah, which Cox visited on Sunday after it destroyed 13 homes. Rollins attributed this increase to the 'roadless rule' while Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, said the increase in wildfires has been caused by warming weather. 'Climate change is the biggest problem in fueling these damaging fires,' Grisham said to some applause. 'We can do climate mitigation and force health resilience and recovery.' Cox called the announcement 'really big news' for the state of Utah, which, unlike Colorado and Idaho, is not exempt from the restriction. For years, Utah has tried to do more to manage its national forests, including entering into a 'shared stewardship' agreement with the Trump administration, which was renewed under President Joe Biden, to treat thousands of acres of national forest lands. 'Utah has been really such a great model for this,' Rollins said. The work of periodically clearing underbrush and thinning trees was controversial where Utah tried it, Cox said, but doing so has resulted in saving 'an entire subdivision' of 50 homes in at least one instance of a wildfire in Utah. Managing forests actually results in cleaner watersheds and more wildlife, according to Cox, who called for additional federal funding for shared stewardship projects to clean out national forest lands. 'A good forest is like a garden,' Cox said. 'You actually have to tend it and take care of it, and if we do this the right way we can prevent fires and improve production.'
The Independent
9 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump administration plans to rescind rule blocking logging on national forest lands
The Trump administration plans to rescind a nearly quarter-century-old rule that blocked logging on national forest lands, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Monday. The so-called roadless rule adopted in the last days of Bill Clinton 's presidency in 2001 long has chafed Republican lawmakers, especially in the West where national forests sprawl across vast, mountainous terrain and the logging industry has waned. The roadless rule impeded road construction and 'responsible timber production' that would have helped reduce the risk of major wildfires, Rollins said at the annual meeting of the Western Governors Association. 'This move opens a new era of consistency and sustainability for our nation's forests," Rollins said. The rule affected 30% of national forest lands nationwide, or about 59 million acres (24 million hectares), according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the agency over the Forest Service. State roadless-area rules in Idaho and Colorado supersede the boundaries of the 2001 roadless rule, according to the USDA, meaning not all national forest land would be affected by a recission. The announcement came amid talk of selling off federal lands, an idea that received a mixed reception from governors at the same meeting. In Alaska, home to the country's largest national forest, the Tongass, the roadless rule has long been a focus of litigation, with state political leaders supporting an exemption to the rule that they argue impedes economic opportunities. During the latter part of President Donald Trump's first term, the federal government lifted restrictions on logging and road-building in the Tongass, something the Biden administration later reversed. Trump in January called for reverting to the policy from his first term as part of an Alaska-specific executive order aimed at boosting oil and gas development, mining and logging in the state. The Tongass is a temperate rainforest of glaciers and rugged coastal islands. It provides habitat to wildlife such as bears, wolves, salmon and bald eagles. Environmental groups, who want to keep restrictions on logging and road-building in place for the Tongass, criticized the possibility of rolling back the protections. 'Any attempt to revoke it is an attack on the air and water we breathe and drink, abundant recreational opportunities which millions of people enjoy each year, havens for wildlife and critical buffers for communities threatened by increasingly severe wildfire seasons,' Josh Hicks, conservation campaigns director at The Wilderness Society, said in a statement of USDA's plans. ___ Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska. Mead Gruver in Cheyenne, Wyoming, contributed to this report.
Associated Press
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Trump administration plans to rescind rule blocking logging on national forest lands
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The Trump administration plans to rescind a nearly quarter-century-old rule that blocked logging on national forest lands, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Monday. The so-called roadless rule adopted in the last days of Bill Clinton's presidency in 2001 long has chafed Republican lawmakers, especially in the West where national forests sprawl across vast, mountainous terrain and the logging industry has waned. The roadless rule impeded road construction and 'responsible timber production' that would have helped reduce the risk of major wildfires, Rollins said at the annual meeting of the Western Governors Association. 'This move opens a new era of consistency and sustainability for our nation's forests,' Rollins said. The rule affected 30% of national forest lands nationwide, or about 59 million acres (24 million hectares), according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the agency over the Forest Service. State roadless-area rules in Idaho and Colorado supersede the boundaries of the 2001 roadless rule, according to the USDA, meaning not all national forest land would be affected by a recission. The announcement came amid talk of selling off federal lands, an idea that received a mixed reception from governors at the same meeting. In Alaska, home to the country's largest national forest, the Tongass, the roadless rule has long been a focus of litigation, with state political leaders supporting an exemption to the rule that they argue impedes economic opportunities. During the latter part of President Donald Trump's first term, the federal government lifted restrictions on logging and road-building in the Tongass, something the Biden administration later reversed . Trump in January called for reverting to the policy from his first term as part of an Alaska-specific executive order aimed at boosting oil and gas development, mining and logging in the state. The Tongass is a temperate rainforest of glaciers and rugged coastal islands. It provides habitat to wildlife such as bears, wolves, salmon and bald eagles. Environmental groups, who want to keep restrictions on logging and road-building in place for the Tongass, criticized the possibility of rolling back the protections. 'Any attempt to revoke it is an attack on the air and water we breathe and drink, abundant recreational opportunities which millions of people enjoy each year, havens for wildlife and critical buffers for communities threatened by increasingly severe wildfire seasons,' Josh Hicks, conservation campaigns director at The Wilderness Society, said in a statement of USDA's plans. ___ Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska. Mead Gruver in Cheyenne, Wyoming, contributed to this report.
Washington Post
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Trump administration plans to rescind rule blocking logging on national forest lands
SANTA FE, N.M. — The Trump administration plans to rescind a nearly quarter-century-old rule that blocked logging on national forest lands, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Monday. The so-called roadless rule adopted in the last days of Bill Clinton's presidency in 2001 long has chafed Republican lawmakers, especially in the West where national forests sprawl across vast, mountainous terrain and the logging industry has waned.
