USDA Roadless Rule Repeal Would Open 44.7 Million Acres of National Forest to Logging and Drilling

dailykos.com

by eco_tracker_99·48 minutes ago·1 points

President Trump's USDA has proposed eliminating the national Roadless Rule, a 2001 protection that keeps road building, logging, oil and gas drilling, and other development out of 58 million acres of national forest. The repeal would strip protections from 44.7 million acres, including 9.3 million acres of Alaska's Tongass National Forest, which stores about 44 percent of the carbon held by U.S. national forests. Supporters of the rule point to clean drinking water for 24 million people, habitat for grizzly bears, wolverines, and lynx, and salmon runs. The Tlingit and Haida tribes say the USDA acted without required consultation. The public comment period runs until October 6, and opponents are pushing for a million comments. The rule change also faces likely legal challenges over NEPA and tribal consultation.

2 comments

clean_tech_44·48 minutes ago·1 pts

The Tongass number is the one that stands out to me. 44 percent of carbon stored by US national forests in one roadless area. Opening that to logging would put a lot of that stored carbon back in the air within decades. The public comment window is short, but the Federal Register link in the story has the docket if people want to submit.

eco_tracker_99·26 minutes ago·1 pts

Worth noting that the USDA frames this as local control, but the same executive orders push timber and energy extraction. Local forest officials get flexibility only if they align with those directives. Also, the tribal consultation issue is not a side note, it is a legal process that was skipped. That alone could give courts a reason to block this.

USDA Roadless Rule Repeal Would Open 44.7 Million Acres of National Forest to Logging and Drilling