New someone to blame for the worsening forest fires: Bill Clinton and his roadless rule.
Hageman Pushes Forest Service Chief To End Clinton-Era Roadless Rule which makes forest management "impossible."
"Wyoming Republican Rep. Hageman told the U.S. Forest Service chief Tuesday that its past time to end the 2001 President Clinton-era roadless rule. She said the agency’s own employees warned at that time it would be a disaster.
"…Her comments came during sharp exchanges over the Trump administration's push to repeal roadless restrictions she says that, among other things, has led to a buildup of dead fuel and historically huge wildfires.
"Democratic lawmakers defend the [roadless] rule as essential protection for intact forests and clean water supplies.
…"Hageman said the administrative record contains "literally hundreds, if not thousands, of comments submitted by Forest Service employees saying, ‘Please do not adopt the roadless rule. It will make it impossible for us to actually manage this resource.’"
…"Since 2001 and the adoption of the roadless rule, we have seen catastrophic forest fires that have been absolutely off the charts," she said. "The insect infestation has been exactly what was predicted by the GAO reports and the Forest Service employees at the time."
The congresswoman provided a specific Wyoming example, describing her recent visit to the Bridger-Teton National Forest where a large fire is burning.
"I was up there a couple of weeks ago, and as I drove through the day before that fire started, I thought, ‘Man, if the fire ever starts in this area, it's going to be an absolute conflagration just looking at the density of the Bridger-Teton National Forest,'" Hageman said. "When I drove back through two days later, I almost couldn't see because there was so much smoke."
Hageman’s own family homestead near Hartville, Wyoming, burned in a wildfire in August 2024.
''Opponents of the roadless rule point to a decline in federal timber harvests from 12 billion board feet annually in the late 1980s to 2.5-3 billion board feet today, which Schultz attributes partly to environmental restrictions following spotted owl protections.
The chief said the Forest Service has identified more than 66 million acres of national forest system lands at high or very high wildfire risk and 78 million acres experiencing insect and disease infestations.
"This is a full-blown wildfire enforced health crisis," Schultz said. "Without action, these conditions are expected to get worse."
…:“The United States has an abundance of timber resources that are more than adequate to meet our domestic timber production needs, but federal policies have prevented the full utilization of these resources, hindering effective forest management on our forest systems,” Schultz told the committee Tuesday. "Many, we've seen mill closures, a problem that can be traced directly to lack of federal timber supply and the certainty around that supply.
"Accelerating our active management, reviving the timber industry is one part of wildfire management.”
Schultz ended with, "The department is committed to meeting the president's vision to increase domestic timber production and streamline federal policies to enhance forest management and reduce wildfire risks."
https://cowboystatedaily.com/2025/09/09/hageman-pushes-forest-service-chief-to-end-clinton-era-roadless-rule/