… U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on Tuesday announced a long-expected repeal of that rule [the Roadless Rule], setting off waves of protest — and likely future litigation — from environmental groups. The rule protects swaths of the Sierra surrounding Lake Tahoe, including watersheds of the American, Rubicon and Yuba rivers. Around 4 million acres of federal land in California are protected by the act. Many of those areas still hold routes cut in before the roadless rule existed, allowing for wildfire mitigation work and recreational access. … [T]he roadless rule is critical in protecting water quality and habitat for species like salmon, trout and deer, conservation group Trout Unlimited said in a statement. 

Other Roadless Rule water impact news:

• The Arizona Republic (Phoenix): What Trump’s plan to kill roadless rule means for Arizona’s forests
• South Tahoe Now (Calif.): Californians fight Trump Administration attempt to roll back Roadless Rule protections on over 4 million acres of California’s forests
• Outdoor Life: Citing wildfire risk, Trump administration proposes to scrap entire roadless rule. Critics argue that more roads will lead to more fires
• American Rivers: Blog: Roadless Rule rollback would be largest loss of river protections on federal land in U.S. history threatening the drinking water of 25 million Americans