The U.S. Department of Agriculture says rescinding the 2001 rule would reduce wildfire risk and return control to local managers.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has submitted a proposal to rescind the entire 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which prohibits road construction and logging on approximately 45 million acres (18 million hectares) of national forest land.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins introduced the proposal Tuesday, saying it would reduce wildfire risk by returning power to local forest managers who “know the land best.”
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“For too long, outdated regulations have kept tens of millions of acres of forests off-limits to the very treatments that would improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk to communities,” Rollins said in a statement. “It’s time to turn the page on the failed Roadless Rule and restore our forests to a healthy and productive state.”
The Trump administration and Republican lawmakers argue that building roads in these areas would give firefighters easier access to the land in the event of a wildfire.
“For 25 years, the pressures of Washington, D.C., have hindered Montana’s ability to adequately manage wildfire risk and road development on nearly 60 percent of Forest Service lands across the Treasure State,” Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte said in a statement.
Although these areas are referred to as “roadless” areas, there are thousands of miles of existing roads within federal, state, and county-owned lands. According to the National Forest Service, about half of these lands are within a mile (1.6 km) of a road, and 31 percent are within a half-mile (800 meters) of a road.
The USDA has clarified that it is not forcing people to harvest timber or build roads.
But environmental groups say rolling back the protective rules would open the door to development that increases the risk of wildfires. According to research by The Wilderness Society, fires are four times more likely to start near roads than in roadless forests.
“Trackless forests are home to wildlife,” Taylor McKinnon, southwest director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “It’s home to some of the continent’s most iconic animals: jaguars, barred owls, and ocelots. Clearing roads into their habitats would introduce man-made wildfires and disturbances that they don’t need and can’t afford.”
The United States is experiencing one of its worst wildfire years in a decade, with about 49,000 fires burning 7.3 million acres (3 million hectares) through Aug. 17, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
More than 95 percent of the affected area is concentrated in 10 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
In early August, highly destructive wildfires broke out in Washington state, burning more than 8,000 acres (3,200 hectares) and forcing the evacuation of approximately 65,000 people.
Last month, the Trump administration finalized the rollback of two regulations affecting the Endangered Species Act. One of the changes requires officials to weigh economic and national security considerations when deciding whether to designate an area as “critical habitat.”
The public has until September 21 to comment on the proposed roadless rule.
