December 23, 2018
Contacts: Andrea Alday, 818-512-7628, andrea_alday@tws.org
WASHINGTON— Just before Friday night’s government shutdown, President Trump quietly released an executive order, threatening America’s National Forests and public lands with increased logging and seeking to eliminate both public input and environmental regulations affecting federal forest management.
The order uses recent wildfires to undermine designated wilderness and roadless area protections, even though decades of data show these lands are the most likely to exhibit healthy fire behavior. In fact, commercial logging and road building have been found to increase wildfire risk.
The Wilderness Society issued this statement from Mike Anderson, Senior Policy Analyst:
“We are disappointed that the Executive Order calls for more logging and less public involvement to solve the nation’s wildfire problems. Instead of promoting divisive legislation to weaken environmental laws, the administration should work with the new Congress to give the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior the funding they need to reduce fire risks and properly manage the national forests and public lands.”
The Wilderness Society is the leading conservation organization working to protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places. Founded in 1935, and now with more than one million members and supporters, The Wilderness Society has led the effort to permanently protect 109 million acres of wilderness and to ensure sound management of our shared national lands. Visit www.wilderness.org.