Trump Says Roads Prevent Wildfires. The Truth Is More Complicated
The Trump administration announced its intention earlier this week to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Policy, also known as the “Roadless Rule,” which restricts road-building, logging, and mining across 58 million acres of the country’s national forests. The administration’s rationale was that the “outdated” Roadless Rule has exacerbated wildfire risks. In a statement announcing the policy change, U.S. Agriculture Department Secretary Brooke Rollins said that “properly managing our