Sierra Club hosts town hall on repeal of Roadless Rule

(WJFW) — The Trump administration is moving to repeal a rule that protects nearly 70,000 acres of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.

The Department of Agriculture and Republicans in the senate say they’re looking to repeal the “Roadless Rule” for the sake of wildfire prevention and response. But new research suggests that wildfires are four times more likely to start near roads than in roadless forests.

The rule protects 45 million acres of national forest lands from logging and roadbuilding. Former Chief of the U.S. Forest Service Michael Dombeck, called it good, conservative policy.

“Number one: it doesn’t cost taxpayers money, in fact, it saves taxpayers money; number two: it doesn’t create a liability by building a road, then that year, after year, after year requires maintenance and costs money to keep up; and number three: it keeps options open for future generations," said Dombeck.

Dombeck was instrumental in creating the rule during the Clinton Administration. Last week, he spoke at a Rhinelander town hall organized by the Sierra Club and local organizations. He said when the rule was designed, the Forest Service collected over 1.6 million comments; 90% of them positive.

“What we’re really seeing is the politicization of agencies that actually have served the country very well for a long time," he said.

Governor Evers has written to the USDA in support of Wisconsin Tribal Organizations, who say they were not consulted on the rule—which concerns ceded territory.

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Видео Sierra Club hosts town hall on repeal of Roadless Rule канала NBC Newswatch 12