The omnibus spending bill passed by Congress last month earmarked billions of dollars for fighting wildfires. Many conservationists and politicians celebrated that change.
But the legislation also rolls rolls back some environmental protections and that has split the conservation community.
The spending bill delays some habitat protections for newly endangered species. It also allows small logging projects to move forward without environmental review, so long as they are done to clear brush and reduce fire risk.
鈥淭aken cumulatively, it鈥檚 a raw deal for our public lands and wildlife,鈥� says Matthew Koehler of the .
He says the new logging policy could be a slippery slope to more timber harvesting on public lands.
But Rebecca Turner of the conservation group says not so fast.
鈥淲hat you have are common sense forest management practices which are pretty middle of the road,鈥� Turner says.
She says small logging projects will clear out brush and reduce fuels for fire.
鈥淲hile some see it as logging, that鈥檚 not what this is about,鈥� Turner says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 actually about forest health.鈥�
American Forests is pleased with the spending bills鈥� fire funding fix, which begins in 2020.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, Yellowstone Public Radio in Montana, KUER in Salt Lake City and KRCC and 萝莉少女 in Colorado.
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