Trump administration to rescind rule protecting old growth forests

The Trump administration announced on Tuesday its intention to rescind a 2001 rule known as the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which has been safeguarding approximately 45 million acres of national forests for the past 25 years. This rule, instituted during the Clinton administration, has been criticized by conservationists as overly restrictive and an obstruction to development. The U.S. Forest Service, an agency under the Department of Agriculture, formally submitted a proposal to rescind the entire rule.

Environmental groups have swiftly condemned the administration's plan, stressing that it would open up vast expanses of national forests to activities such as road construction, drilling, and logging. Brooke Rollins, the current Secretary of Agriculture under Trump, had previously described the rule as "overly restrictive" and an "absurd obstacle" to development.

The Sierra Club, a prominent environmental organization, emphasized that the rule serves as a vital barrier against industrial exploitation and new road construction in some of America's most pristine public forests.

Alex Craven, the Forest Campaign Manager at the Sierra Club, highlighted the rule's critical role in protecting essential wildlife habitat, clean air and water, and vast areas of old-growth forests. He also pointed out that the rule allows for targeted actions to reduce hazardous fuels without opening up these forests to industrial exploitation. However, the administration argues that the rescission of the rule would facilitate active forest management and wildfire prevention.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) urged the public to submit comments on the proposal, emphasizing that the administration's plan would "open up tens of millions of acres of our national forests to destructive logging, drilling and road building." The administration claims that the rescission of the rule is necessary to manage forests more effectively and combat wildfires.

Rollins, the Secretary of Agriculture, stated that the outdated restrictions had kept tens of millions of forested acres off-limits to treatments that improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk.

However, environmentalists argue that the administration's assertions about the rule's impact on wildfire risk are misguided. They contend that roads generally contribute to more ignitions and wildfires, rather than preventing them. The rule, they argue, does not permit using wildfire as a justification to open up these intact public forests to industrial exploitation.

The largest roadless area under threat is the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, which is home to numerous species, including brown and black bears, wolves, and bald eagles, and plays a crucial role in the global carbon cycle.