Trump administration moves to open untouched national forests to logging
The Trump administration is moving to repeal the 'roadless rule,' which has restricted road construction and industrial activity on millions of acres of public forest land since 2001. The move aims to increase economic development, though environmental groups warn of significant ecological damage.
Why it matters
This policy shift represents a major reversal in U.S. conservation strategy, highlighting the ongoing tension between industrial resource extraction and environmental preservation on public lands.
The Trump administration moved on Tuesday to roll back an environmental rule that currently blocks road construction, and by extension most logging and mining activity, on tens of millions of acres of public forest land.
The so-called "roadless rule" was introduced by the Clinton administration and went into effect in 2001. It has been a flashpoint in the U.S. fight over economic development and wild land conservation, especially in Western states, for a quarter of a century.
"Our forests can't afford another decade of inaction," U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement . "It's time to turn the page on the failed roadless rule and return our forests to health and productivity."
The proposed change drew praise from Republican governors in Montana, Utah and Wyoming. Their comments appeared in the same USDA press release.
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