Trump administration moves to roll back major forest and species protections

The U.S. administration announced plans to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which has kept roughly 45 million acres of national forest free from roads, logging, mining and large‑scale energy development. Environmental groups warn the rollback could harm wildlife habitats, water quality and climate mitigation functions of old‑growth forests.

At the same time, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it will repeal the Endangered Species Act “blanket rule” that extended near‑endangered level protection to threatened species and will revise the process for designating critical habitat. The changes are promoted by farm, cattle, mining and oil interests as easing regulatory burdens, while conservation organizations and the Center for Biological Diversity have announced legal challenges, saying the moves risk extinction for vulnerable plants and animals.