Bureau of Land Management Agrees to Reverse Trump-Era Post-Wildfire Logging Rule Changes
BLM agrees to reverse Trump-era post-fire logging rule
A year ago, environmental groups sued the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over rule changes made during the Trump administration that allowed the agency to log large areas of forests after a wildfire without first doing an environmental review.
The 2020 rules increased the maximum area for “categorical exclusions” from 250 acres to 3,000 acres. These exclusions allowed the agency to approve logging projects without considering their environmental impacts.
The BLM had already paused logging under the 2020 rules in the summer of 2021. And according to the new agreement made with conservation groups, they will remove the previous language from the books in the next several years. The BLM will revert to its old guidance on post-fire logging, and projects larger than 250 acres will again require detailed environmental review.
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