US: Nature Conservancy responds to Trump administration's proposal to repeal 2001 Roadless Rule

“Rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule would threaten wildlife, forests and the outdoor recreation economy while increasing wildfire risk across some of the most ecologically important forests in the country,” said Brent Keith, federal lands policy team lead for The Nature Conservancy on 18 August 2018, reacting to the Trump administration proposal about this rule.

This revocation by the US admninistration would strip development protections from 44.7 million acres of national forest land (nearly 18.1 million hectares), nearly three-quarters of the roughly 60 million acres (nearly 24.3 million hectares) the rule has shielded from logging and road-building over the past 25 years.

According to Keith, about 30% of US national forests and grasslands are protected under the Roadless Rule. These…