The California attorney general's office said Wednesday that Attorney General co-led a coalition of 17 attorneys general in submitting a comment letter opposing the U.S. Forest Service's proposed rule to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
The office said the proposal would remove protections across nearly 45 million acres of national forest lands nationwide and would open 4.4 million acres of national forest in California to potential new roadbuilding, road reconstruction, logging and other industrial uses such as mining, oil and gas development; the office said those changes would affect sensitive waterways, recreational areas and wildlife habitat in all 20 National Forests in California with significant roadless areas.
The office said the coalition's comment letter argues the proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement fail to meet the Administrative Procedure Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Forest Management Act; among other claims, the letter says the proposal is arbitrary and capricious, does not justify changing long‑standing policy, and unlawfully narrows the agency's statement of purpose and need.
“Our Golden State is home to some of the most pristine and diverse ecosystems in the nation. We will not stand by and allow the federal government to subject our National Forests to commercial exploitation,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in the release.
“This reckless proposal threatens millions of acres of our public lands,” California Secretary for Natural Resources said; “For 25 years, the Roadless Rule has helped protect California's clean water, wildlife habitat, recreational backcountry, and some of our most treasured public lands. Repealing it would put those protections at risk when we need them most.”
The office said the letter urges the Forest Service to rescind the proposal; Washington Attorney General Nicholas Brown and Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield co-led the coalition with Bonta, and the letter includes the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.
State
Rob Bonta
Attorney General · Democrat
Named 3 times in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
State
Wade Crowfoot
Secretary for Natural Resources
Named once in this story.
Portrait: Region 5 Photography, USDA Forest Service / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Sources & methodology
This report was written from the primary materials below. Links open at the original publisher.
California Attorney GeneralSee something we should correct? Read our corrections policy.