Trump administration looks to fast track logging on public lands

The Trump administration is proposing to fast track logging on public lands, introducing two proposals Thursday that would limit the environmental review of new projects. The proposals from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would eliminate a 15-day protest period afforded to the public to comment on timber sales and other forest management decisions. BLM said the comment period they are proposing to cut is repetitive, as people can already submit their thoughts when a project is undergoing review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). “In too many cases today, individuals and organizations that are unsatisfied with the final forest management decision are using the protest process to delay implementation by filing lengthy protests with the same comments that were previously raised and addressed,” the agency wrote in its release. But some say the move risks further cutting the public out of what can be controversial decisions in local communities...MORE