Republicans add measure to strip forest protections to wildfire bill, endangering Dem support
The committee voted 11-9 to attach the repeal to wildfire legislation, a move opponents say could open 45 million acres to logging and road building.
- On Wednesday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 11-9 to advance the Wildfire Prevention Act, adopting an amendment from Senator John Barrasso to nullify the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
- The Roadless Area Conservation Rule restricts road building and logging on about 58 million acres of national forest, covering about 30 percent of National Forest System lands.
- Senator Lisa Murkowski said the rule hampers necessary projects, while Senator Ron Wyden argued it protects "precious landscapes" like the Cascade Lakes, highlighting conflicting views on forest management.
- Committee Chairman Mike Lee defended his departure from bipartisan legislation, citing Heinrich's "continued obstruction," while the top Democrat accused Lee of injecting partisanship into committee markups.
- The legislation moves to the Senate floor for debate, while the Trump administration separately pursues executive repeal of the rule and Heinrich noted permitting reform negotiations are "going fairly well.
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KQEN News RadioRepublicans Block Wyden Legislation to Protect Roadless Rule
This week Senate Republicans blocked an amendment offered by Oregon U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, during a Senate committee vote to preserve a 25-year-old rule that Wyden claims protect more than 58 million acres of national forest and public lands across…
Republican lawmakers send Roadless Rule repeal to U.S. Senate
The Blue Lake dam under construction in September 2014. It’s located within an inventoried roadless area in Sitka. (Photo courtesy Desiree Brandis) Republican lawmakers are working to repeal the Roadless Rule through Congress at the same time that the U.S. Department of Agriculture pursues an administrative rescission of the rule. The 2001 Roadless Rule prevents new roads in national forests, including more than 9 million acres of the Tongass Na…
Republicans add measure to strip forest protections to wildfire bill, endangering Dem support
Republican senators have thrown a wrench into an effort to pass a wildfire prevention bill, adding a controversial amendment seeking to nullify Clinton-area forest protections. It’s a move that Democrats say makes the underlying legislation less likely to pass, since they won’t get behind the move to strip protections from 59 million acres of national…
Amended Barrasso Bill Would Erase Clinton-Era Roadless Rule
The Clinton-era Roadless Rule on U.S. Forest Service lands will be erased if Wyoming Republicans U.S. Sen. John Barrasso and Rep. Harriet Hageman get their way. “I have been fighting the Roadless Rule since the day it was handed down,” said Hageman.
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