The Trump administration announced plans Monday to roll back a conservation rule that has protected nearly 60 million acres of undeveloped national forest land for over 20 years — a decision that has triggered strong opposition from environmental advocates and conservationists. The proposed changes would pave the way for expanded logging and road construction in some of the country’s most pristine wilderness, The Washington Post reported Monday.Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins revealed that the administration is initiating efforts to repeal protections covering approximately 59 million acres of roadless forest, including a significant portion of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest — a nearly 9-million-acre expanse of old-growth wilderness, per the Post. Rollins made these remarks while speaking before a gathering of Western governors in New Mexico. READ MORE: ‘Who is running the show?’ Trump’s sudden disappearance from public view sparks questionsMeanwhile, environmental advocates have swiftly denounced the move and vowed legal action against it.If finalized and upheld in court, the rollback would eliminate safeguards on around 30% of the National Forest System. According to the Agriculture Department, this includes more than 90 percent of Tongass, one of the planet’s largest remaining temperate rainforests. In a statement highlighted by the Post, the department — home to the U.S. Forest Service — labeled the Roadless Area Conservation Rule “outdated.” The statement went on to say that it “goes against the mandate of the USDA Forest Service to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands.”READ MORE: ‘Deception’: Top Iranian official directly refutes Trump’s claim of ‘ceasefire’Chris Wood, chief executive of the conservation group Trout Unlimited, told the Post the administration’s decision “feels a little bit like a solution in search of a problem.”“There are provisions within the roadless rule that allow for wildfire fighting,” Wood said. “My hope is once they go through a rulemaking process, and they see how wildly unpopular and unnecessary this is, common sense will prevail.”Drew Caputo, vice president of litigation for lands, wildlife and oceans at Earthjustice, told The Post: “The roadless rule has protected 58 million acres of our wildest national forest lands from clear-cutting for more than a generation.”“The Trump administration now wants to throw these forest protections overboard so the timber industry can make huge money from unrestrained logging,” he added.READ MORE: ‘Violence in the streets’: Health insurers plan major change that could impact millionsOriginally implemented in the late 1990s under former President Bill Clinton, the roadless rule was developed to preserve increasingly rare undeveloped areas in national forests. Environmental groups have long viewed these lands as crucial habitats for wildlife threatened by expanding development and industrial-scale logging operations.
US strikes another drug boat in eastern Pacific (VIDEO)
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