Roadless rule repeal

[Fritz the Cat]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/t...S&cvid=68c1bea19e7a439a94de16ede684f92b&ei=11

US Trump Public Lands© Mark Schiefelbein
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Wednesday proposed canceling a public land management rule that put conservation on equal footing with development, as President Donald Trump's administration seeks to open more taxpayer-owned tracts to drilling, logging, mining and grazing.

US Trump Public Lands© Charlie Riedel
The rule was a key part of efforts under former President Joe Biden to refocus the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management, which oversees about 10% of land in the U.S. Adopted last year, it allowed public property to be leased for restoration in the same way that oil companies lease land for drilling.

US Trump Public Lands© Matthew Brown
Industry and agriculture groups were bitterly opposed to the Biden rule and lobbied Republicans to reverse it. States including North Dakota, where Burgum served as governor before joining Trump's Cabinet, pursued a lawsuit hoping to block the rule.

Wednesday's announcement comes amid a flurry of actions since Trump took office aimed at boosting energy production from the federal government's vast land holdings, which are concentrated in Western states including Alaska, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.





Interior officials said the Biden rule had sidelined people who depend on public lands for their livelihoods and imposed unneeded restrictions.


Burgum said in a statement that it would have prevented thousands of acres from being used for energy and mineral productions, grazing and recreation. Overturning it “protects our American way of life and gives our communities a voice in the land that they depend on,” Burgum said.

“The previous administration’s Public Lands Rule had the potential to block access to hundreds of thousands of acres of multiple-use land – preventing energy and mineral production, timber management, grazing and recreation across the West,” Burgum said.

Environmentalists had largely embraced the rule that was finalized in April 2024. Supporters argued that conservation was a long-neglected facet of the land bureau’s mission under the 1976 Federal Lands Policy Management Act.




“The administration cannot simply overthrow that statutory authority because they would prefer to let drilling and mining companies call the shots,” said Alison Flint, senior legal director at The Wilderness Society.

While the bureau previously issued leases for conservation purposes in limited cases, it never had a dedicated program for it.

Critics said the change under Biden violated the “multiple use” mandate for Interior Department lands, by catapulting the “non-use” of federal lands — meaning restoration leases — to a position of prominence.

National Mining Association CEO Rich Nolan said Burgum's proposal would ensure the nation's natural resources are available to address rising energy demands and supply important minerals.

“This is a welcome change from the prior clear disregard for the legal obligation to balance multiple uses on federal lands,” Nolan said.




The rule also promoted the designation of more “areas of critical environmental concern” — a special status that can restrict development. It’s given to land with historic or cultural significance or that’s important for wildlife conservation.

In addition to its surface land holdings, the land bureau regulates publicly-owned underground mineral reserves — such as coal for power plants and lithium for renewable energy — across more than 1 million square miles (2.5 million square kilometers). The bureau has a history of industry-friendly policies and for more than a century has sold grazing permits and oil and gas leases.

The pending publication of Burgum's proposal will kick off a 60-day public comment period.

House Republicans last week repealed land management plans adopted in the closing days of former President Joe Biden’s administration that restricted development in large areas of Alaska, Montana and North Dakota. Interior officials also announced a proposal aimed at increasing mining and drilling in Western states with populations of greater sage grouse. Biden administration officials proposed limits on development and prohibitions against mining to help protect the grouse.

 

[ORCUS DEMENS]

Roads have a greater impact on the local environment other than their footprint. Putting roads in can alter natural drainage patterns, cause erosion, effect local micro ecosystems/habitat, and animal travel patterns.
Not the same environment but roads in wilderness areas have larger impacts than just road dimensions.
https://www.popsci.com/science/batagaika-crater-gateway-to-hell/

 

[Fritz the Cat]

What Outdoor Enthusiasts Should Know About The Recent Roadless Rule Rollbacks​

Every year, many people visit national parks and forests across the United States, taking part in events like National Public Lands Day and enjoying miles of pristine wilderness. Various laws and policies protect these places, but a recent change has been causing a bit of a stir. The 2001 Roadless Rule was created to limit the amount of development allowed in national forests and grasslands. In addition to prohibiting the construction of roads, it also prevents logging. The recension of this would leave millions of acres of land open to timber harvesting and road construction at the discretion of local forest officials.



The push to remove the rule is part of an ongoing effort by the Trump administration to increase logging on federal land. Officials claim that removing the rule would decrease the risk of wildfires and allow firefighters to fight fires more effectively when they occur. However, the National Park Service states that roughly 85% of fires in wild areas are caused by human activity. Increasing human activity in wild areas increases the risk of wildfires. Additionally, natural fires in remote areas are often better left to burn, as they serve an important role in the ecosystem.

(NDA, for decades the NPS has been doing DEI hires and is it any wonder they would adopt such positions. Fire has its place; catastrophic fires do not.)

Adding roads to these areas also poses a threat to endangered wildlife. There are many unique species to look for while hiking, including rare or endangered animals that live in our national and state parks. Over 500 species of protected animals living in these roadless regions would be threatened by new roads or logging projects.

What next for the Roadless Rule?​

Removing the 2001 Roadless Rule is a big change, and it can't happen overnight. While the process has been started to rescind it, there is still a chance to stop this from happening. A public comment period earlier this year collected opinions from citizens. Hundreds of thousands of people spoke out against the proposed change, and the government does have to take this into account. According to the Administrative Procedure Act, the government has to address any meaningful concerns raised by the public before the change can be fully implemented. They are expected to release an environmental impact statement by March 2026.


As disheartening as the proposed rule change is, there is still a chance to help improve the situation. Environmentalist groups are preparing to fight the rule change in court if necessary. You can help by making your voice heard at future public comment opportunities, as well as by contacting your representatives to encourage state policy changes to protect the environment. Continue supporting your local public lands by visiting them, educating yourself and others, and using sustainable camping and hiking practices whenever you can. By working together, we can ensure that these wild spaces are preserved for future generations of humans, animals, and plants to enjoy together.

 

[Fritz the Cat]

As the shutdown leaves thousands of federal workers furloughed, American hunters won’t see their way of life threatened thanks to a fantastic move from the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump has directed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to allow hunting on the nearly 600 National Wildlife Refuges across the country amid the shutdown that has left many of the agency’s employees furloughed, The Washington Post (WaPo) reported Sunday.


According to the plan, refuge law enforcement officers will be exempt from the furlough in addition to at least one employee who will remain on site for safety purposes. The visitor centers will stay closed for the time being, but the hunts will go on as planned.

Of course, WaPo framed the story as yet another example of the Trump administration’s scattershot, unfair approach to the shutdown. Military service members are still getting their checks, but EPA permitting approvals have come to a halt? For WaPo, it’s political malice; for the rest of America, it sounds pretty fair.


Desiree Sorenson-Groves, president of the National Wildlife Refuge Association, complained that Trump’s hunting directive will only incentivize bad actors. She seems to believe that hunters must proceed through a check-out line when they leave the woods as if they had just shopped at a grocery store.

“People will go out and do illegal hunting. People will go out and trespass,” she told the outlet. “For hunting, we don’t let people police themselves, right? We don’t say: ‘Here’s your online tag for your deer. We trust you to just go get one deer.'”

But why shouldn’t Americans be allowed to hunt without useless federal employees breathing down their necks?

Hunters are some of the most responsible people in the country. They are true experts, they exercise caution, and they have a tremendous amount of respect for animals and our beautiful natural environment. Certainly, they are better stewards of the land than the bureaucrats in Washington.

 

[Fritz the Cat]

2,000 Federal Public-Land Employees Could Lose Jobs Amid Shutdown​

The Department of Interior will likely cut another 2,000 jobs from the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Geological Survey, Department officials announced Monday in a court filing.

The planned cuts were announced in the middle of a government shutdown, but according to sources familiar with the situation, the reduction in force, as it’s called, has been planned for months. A U.S. District Court judge ruled last week that the layoffs could not proceed during the shutdown. But even if the Department waits for the shutdown to end, people within Interior who spoke with Outdoor Life anticipate the layoffs will begin immediately after the government reopens.



“We’re going to lose scientific capacity to inform habitat management projects and to manage harvest and the impacts of human disturbances like energy development,” says Ed Arnett, CEO of The Wildlife Society. “And we not only lose capacity, but we might lose some of these programs forever.”

Federal workers remove old barbed wire fences at a National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming. Photo by Keith Penner / USFWS
Scientific research and communications, particularly within the USGS, will be hit particularly hard. The USGS Great Lakes Science Center, for example, will lose 79% of its staff. The science center is responsible for restoring, enhancing, managing and protecting species living in the Great Lakes basin, according to its website. Biologists and specialists there also monitor harmful algal blooms and invasive species.



The Bureau of Land Management, which manages about 245 million acres of land, primarily in the West, will also be decimated. Interior plans to cut between 18% and 31% of the workforce at the southeast, pacific west and northeast regional offices along with the Denver Service Center and regional support. Cuts will also hit BLM state offices in Utah, California, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Colorado. The BLM cuts come at a time of renewed efforts to sell public lands while also dramatically increasing oil and gas drilling, and mining.

These anticipated layoffs would pile on top of a series of layoffs in February that shed thousands of jobs from agencies within Interior and the U.S. Forest Service, which falls under the Department of Agriculture.

NDA, some years ago a company needed to layoff. The joke was management went out to the parking lot looking for cars with Obama decals.

Using that template, DOI should go out to the parking lot looking for Wildlife Society, Wildlife Federation, DU, PF, BHA bumper sticker and window decals. Fire the enviros first.

 

[PrairieGhost]

2,000 Federal Public-Land Employees Could Lose Jobs Amid Shutdown​

The Department of Interior will likely cut another 2,000 jobs from the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Geological Survey, Department officials announced Monday in a court filing.

The planned cuts were announced in the middle of a government shutdown, but according to sources familiar with the situation, the reduction in force, as it’s called, has been planned for months. A U.S. District Court judge ruled last week that the layoffs could not proceed during the shutdown. But even if the Department waits for the shutdown to end, people within Interior who spoke with Outdoor Life anticipate the layoffs will begin immediately after the government reopens.



“We’re going to lose scientific capacity to inform habitat management projects and to manage harvest and the impacts of human disturbances like energy development,” says Ed Arnett, CEO of The Wildlife Society. “And we not only lose capacity, but we might lose some of these programs forever.”

Federal workers remove old barbed wire fences at a National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming. Photo by Keith Penner / USFWS
Scientific research and communications, particularly within the USGS, will be hit particularly hard. The USGS Great Lakes Science Center, for example, will lose 79% of its staff. The science center is responsible for restoring, enhancing, managing and protecting species living in the Great Lakes basin, according to its website. Biologists and specialists there also monitor harmful algal blooms and invasive species.



The Bureau of Land Management, which manages about 245 million acres of land, primarily in the West, will also be decimated. Interior plans to cut between 18% and 31% of the workforce at the southeast, pacific west and northeast regional offices along with the Denver Service Center and regional support. Cuts will also hit BLM state offices in Utah, California, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Colorado. The BLM cuts come at a time of renewed efforts to sell public lands while also dramatically increasing oil and gas drilling, and mining.

These anticipated layoffs would pile on top of a series of layoffs in February that shed thousands of jobs from agencies within Interior and the U.S. Forest Service, which falls under the Department of Agriculture.

NDA, some years ago a company needed to layoff. The joke was management went out to the parking lot looking for cars with Obama decals.

Using that template, DOI should go out to the parking lot looking for Wildlife Society, Wildlife Federation, DU, PF, BHA bumper sticker and window decals. Fire the enviros first.

I would agree if they fired all the extremists first which would include looking for Farm Bureau over at Dept of Agriculture. I wonder if it would affect output if they just eliminated all the racist/sexist DEI hires first.

I don't belong to any of these groups, do you?

Since federal employees are to uphold the constitution I would seriously look for any anti constitution stickers.