The U.S. Forest Service finalized new rules Tuesday that pave the way for more oil and gas development in some of the country’s most pristine public lands.
The new rules “create clarity and alignment across federal agencies,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement. Among the major changes is that the Forest Service will no longer conduct site-specific reviews for parcels within national forests that the Interior Department has identified for oil and gas leasing.
Environmental groups said the new rule is part of a pattern by the Trump administration to give public lands to fossil fuel interests.
“This is another wasteful handout to big pollution at the expense of clean air and water that millions of Americans depend on for survival,” said Josh Axelrod, senior program advocate for the National Resources Defense Council, in a statement.
