Trump’s Repeal of Roadless Rule Would Declare Open Season on Protected Forests

Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE), an organization of active, former, or retired wildland firefighters, is also speaking out against the repeal. It said in a statement that more roads and human access will mean more human-caused wildfire starts, and that logging roads in backcountry areas are dangerous for attempting to stop wildfire. FUSEE argues this is best done by aviation-based tactics and other means fully allowed by the existing rule.

Molly Maguire, a representative of FUSEE and current member of an active wildfire module (a firefighting team), stated, “Wildland fires are necessary and incredibly significant ecological processes. Roadless areas lack much infrastructure or human structures, so they offer opportunities to safely, economically, and ecologically manage fire across large areas without threatening human assets.”