Mike Lee ignites controversy after adding roadless rule repeal to a wildfire bill

Utah Sen. Mike Lee and fellow Republicans added a repeal of the controversial roadless rule to a previously bipartisan wildfire bill on Wednesday.

The amended Wildfire Prevention Act passed out of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on an 11-9 vote split along party lines and now heads to the full Senate. The act would nullify the 2001 roadless rule, which prevents logging and roadbuilding on nearly 59 million acres of national forest land, including roughly 4 million acres in Utah.