Utah seeks more influence over national forest management

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Gov. Gary Herbert is planning to ask the U.S. Department of Agriculture for permission to thin forests, clear out dead trees and do prescribed burns on protected areas that account for nearly half of national forest lands in the state.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports the Republican governor is seeking to adjust how the U.S. Forest Service’s Roadless Area Conservation Rule is applied in the state to allow for better state influence over national forests following a particularly brutal wildfire season.

Conservationists see the proposal as a ploy to use wildfires to open the lands to commercial logging.

State officials plan to submit their petition to revise the roadless rule in the spring. The Department of Agriculture would conduct an environmental analysis if Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue accepts it.

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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com