By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – National and local environmental groups are demanding the federal government give the public more time to fight a proposed rollback of a landmark conservation policy.
Read more Tucson Seminoles suspended by youth football conference
Advocates claim President Donald Trump’s administration is rushing a plan to rescind the “Roadless Rule” — a Clinton-era policy established that protects 45 million acres of undeveloped national forest lands across the country.
That includes more than 1.2 million acres of protected forest land right here in Arizona.
If repealed, the move would open previously untouched wildlands to new road construction, commercial logging, and mining development. However, the government has given the public just a 32-day window to formally weigh in, a timeline conservationists argue is dangerously short.
“These are lands that people care about, they visit, they count on for clean water and wildlife and all of the rest and recreation,” said Tim Preso, managing attorney of the biodiversity program at Earthjustice. “And this is a proposal to pull back protections for those lands for 25 years.”
Preso argues that the current timeline is nowhere near the time historically allowed for public input.
“Instead of giving at least as much as was given for the public to comment when the rule was created, we’re getting a fraction of that with really important issues at stake for the future of these lands that provide so much to local communities,” Preso said.
Procedural timelines are not the only concern for local advocates. While the U.S. Forest Service has scheduled public hearings to discuss the rollback, all of those meetings are taking place either virtually or in-person in Alaska—effectively leaving the rest of the country without a localized forum to voice their concerns.
“This is part of the administration’s broader effort to dismantle longstanding protections on public lands and dismantle our public land system without input from all of us here in Tucson and Arizona, who love these places,” said Louise Misztal, Executive Director of the Tucson-based Sky Island Alliance.
Read more Chandler officer shoots, kills man police say waved gun
Local conservationists are urging Southern Arizona residents to join the fight, warning that developing these protected forest lands could bring severe ecological dangers close to home.
In a desert environment already vulnerable to extreme heat and drought, building new roads through forests significantly increases the threat of devastating wildfires.
“Fires have been found to be four times more likely to start near roads than in areas that are not roads,” Misztal explained. “So, if we think about this in Tucson and some of the wildfires we’ve seen really close to home recently, I think this is an important part of the picture.”
The U.S. Forest Service could not provide a comment regarding the proposed rollback, at this time.
The 32-day public comment period is scheduled to close at midnight on September 21st.
To share your opinion and submit a formal response directly to the U.S. Forest Service, you can find a direct link on the roadless rule page here.
Are you streaming 13 News?
Watch a free live stream of Tucson Now and 13 News at TucsonNow.Live.
Be sure to download the free Tucson Now app, which you can find on Apple and Google.
If you are using a desktop computer, you can use your mobile device to scan the QR code below.
Read more Texas man pleads guilty to pressuring child into sexual activity in Arizona
You can submit your breaking news or weather images here.