The USDA announced Monday it would withdraw decades-old rules protecting 58.5 million acres of national forests from road construction and timber harvesting.
The USDA, which oversees the U.S. Forest Service, said it would eliminate the 2001 “road-free rules.” Research shows that buildings can fragment habitat, destroy ecosystems, and increase drinking water erosion and sediment pollution.
In a statement, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins described the rule (which applies to about 30% of national forests) as outdated and overly restrictive.
“Again, President Trump is removing the absurd obstacles to common-sense management of natural resources by retracting the overly restrictive “road-free rules,” Rollins said in a statement. “This move opens up a new era of forest consistency and sustainability in our country. By properly managing our forests, it is abundantly clear that future generations of Americans will be able to enjoy and enjoy the benefits of this great land.”
Over 40 states have areas protected by regulations. California contains approximately 4.4 million acres in 21 national forests, including Angeles, Tahoe, Inho, Shasta Trinity and the Rospadres National Forest, according to the USDA website.
The Environmental Group immediately condemned the USDA decision.
“Committee Rollins reads the statement from Vera Smith, director of the national forests and public lands, as well as wildlife and its habitats.
Josh Hicks, director of conservation campaigns for the nonprofit Wilderness Society, said the policy has been “very successful in protecting the country’s forests from nearly 25 years of mining, logging and Roadville.”
“To cancel it is an attack on the water and water we breathe and drink, a key buffer for communities that are threatened by the abundant recreational opportunities enjoyed by millions of people each year, shelters for wildlife and an increasingly serious wildfire season,” Hicks said.
National forests are a key source of drinking water in the United States, and areas designated as “no roads” can help protect the source of hundreds of basins supplying millions of people, according to a 2001 impact report on the regulations.
Regarding wildfires, Rollins said revoking the 2001 roadless rule would allow the federal government to better manage forests for fire risk and timber production. Of the 58.5 million acres covered by the regulations, 28 million acres are in areas with high wildfires or very high wildfires, she said.
Several opponents opposed the concept of reducing the risk of fires by eliminating rules.
“It’s ridiculous that Director-General Rollins would turn this into a move to reduce the risk of piles or improve recreation,” read a statement from Rachel Humvey, policy director for the Western Priority Centre, a conservation advocacy group. “Commercial logging exacerbates climate change and increases the strength of wildfires. This is just a great giveaway to timber businesses at the expense of forests that belong to all America and all of us.”
The administration “appears to be set to liquidate public lands as soon as possible,” said Drew McConville, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progressives, a nonprofit. “Under the guise of wildfire prevention, this action will shamelessly provide some of our most precious national forests for drilling, mining and timber. It’s now clear to President Trump that Americans don’t want forests and parks to the highest bidders.”
The decision coincides with a recent executive order from President Trump, which aimed to expand mining, logging and drilling on public land, including a controversial Senate proposal to sell millions of acres of public land as part of Trump’s “one big beautiful bill act.”
In April, Trump also issued an order to open more than 112.5 million acres of national forest land to industrial logging. This is an order that touches all of California’s national forests.
The president says these actions will help remove costly barriers to American business and innovation, increase domestic timber supply and strengthen energy independence.
In many states, but especially in California, the subject of managing forests to reduce wildfire risk is a matter of political debate, and Trump is famously known for noting that during his first term that he needs to “cover the forest floor” to prevent California from getting worse.
Experts say suppressing decades of fires in California has enabled the accumulation of vegetation fueling larger and more frequent fires. However, many of those same experts warn that clear brushes are not the same as large-scale cutting or clear cutting. This can eliminate fire-reducing tints and moisture, leading to new growth of more flammable non-native plants and grasses.
Chriswood, who helped develop the road-free rule in 2001, served as chief executive of the conservation group Trout Unlimited while working for the Forest Service, said the policy was “one of the most important and popular conservation outcomes in US history.”
“Gifford Pinchot, the first Chief of the Forest Service, once described conservation as “the application of common sense to common problems for the common good,” Wood said. “Let’s hope that common sense wins and that the administration will reconsider its proposal.”
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