… The Trump administration is one step closer to repealing the 2001 Roadless Rule and opening nearly 45 million acres of national forests across the U.S. to possible development. … Over 1 million people in the Intermountain region get water directly from watersheds that include roadless areas, according to the Forest Service. Water that flows through roadless areas in the region also journeys downstream to larger waterways and supports an additional 3.7 million people. … More road construction and logging could increase sediment in creeks, streams and rivers that run through the national forests and degrade the water quality. Less trees in the forest after a timber harvest could also lead to quicker snowmelt runoff in the spring.

Other roadless rule news:

• The Plumas Sun (Quincy, Calif.): USDA acts to remove roadless rule restrictions