Trump administration targets protections in the San Gabriel Mountains and other national forest lands
LOS ANGELES (KESQ) - The Trump administration announced today it plans to rescind decades-old conservation protections in the San Gabriel Mountains and other national forest lands.
The proposal from the U.S. Forest Service would scrap the entire so-called roadless rule adopted in the last days of Bill Clinton's presidency in 2001. The rollback would remove long-standing protections for about 4 million acres in California.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture claims the move is necessary to reduce wildfire risk and expand forest management.
According to Alex Craven, the Sierra Club's forest campaign manager, the roadless rule "is the only thing preventing much of our wildest remaining national forests from industrial development. These forests offer critical habitat for wildlife; provide clean, fresh air and water for millions; and contain vast swaths of the last remaining old-growth forests in the country."
The measure protects 58 million acres of roadless national forest areas in 39 states, Craven said.
Eliminating the roadless rule would jeopardize popular recreation areas, wildlife habitat and drinking water sources across 10 national forests statewide, from the Klamath Mountains and the Sierra Nevada to southern ranges, such as the Cleveland National Forest, conservation groups say.
"By their very nature, roadless areas are remote and inaccessible and experience far fewer ignitions than lands near roads,'' Dr. Gregory Aplet, senior forest scientist with The Wilderness Society, said in a statement. "Opening roadless areas to logging and road construction will only increase the number of fires, not reduce them."
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said the restrictions on forest lands have frustrated land managers and served as a barrier to wildfire risk reduction work across large swaths of America's national forests.
"Our forests can't afford another decade of inaction,'' she said Tuesday. "Across the country, we've watched preventable conditions -- overgrown stands, insect outbreaks and disease -- turn healthy landscapes into tinderboxes. For too long, outdated restrictions have kept tens of millions of forested acres off-limits to the very treatments that improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk to our communities.
"Today, we filed a proposal to restore authority to local forest managers who know the land best, removing the barriers that have kept them from doing the work the land demands. It's time to turn the page on the failed roadless rule and return our forests to health and productivity.''
The action is intended to prioritize local agency decision-making over regulatory rules that are the same across the country, regardless of specific land management issues and needs, Rollins said.
"Active forest management is not an option,'' said Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz.
"It's essential. More than 40% of inventoried roadless areas, primarily in the West, have high or very high wildfire hazard potential. And only 5% of those areas have received hazardous fuels reduction treatments since 2014. At the same time, more than a quarter of these lands -- 11.3 million acres -- are already near existing roads. Acting now, thoughtfully and decisively, is the best way to restore the balance, reduce wildfire risk, and secure the long-term health of our forests and neighboring communities."
To comment on the proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement, go to Regulations.gov. Public comments must be received by midnight on Sept. 21. Information will be available Aug. 19 on the Forest Service Roadless Areas webpage.
