The management of Public Lands of the USA is being changed SECRETLY without notice to the American people.
By Emily Holden
The Trump administration (click here) is proposing to make it easier for oil and gas companies to drill on US forest service lands.
A proposed rule would eliminate key environmental reviews and public notice requirements, according to environmental advocates.
Currently, 2.7 % of the acreage of the national forest system has been leased by energy industries. An analysis by The Wilderness Society finds that the changes would make drilling more likely on more than 9m acres of land with high, medium or moderate development potential in Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. Many of the forests are near tribal lands or include the traditional territories of indigenous peoples, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
Western US forests could see the biggest changes, but the rule could also affect the east coast, where there is far less forest service land....
Drilling within forests would require clearing trees for well pads and disrupting the ecosystem for roads and pipelines....
Drilling within forests would require clearing trees for well pads and disrupting the ecosystem for roads and pipelines....
