Middleboro Review and so on

  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees the Forest Service, is trying to take away crucial environmental protections for 45 million acres of public forests. Last year, the agency proposed the elimination of the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. If the Roadless Rule is ended, it would open up our forests to for-profit corporations involved in logging and road construction for development. Many Tribes, advocacy organizations, and everyday people spoke out, submitting more than 625,000 comments -- the vast majority expressing strong opposition to the destruction of Native homelands and national forests, which has happened without any Tribal consultation -- in violation of the law and of Tribal sovereignty. Now, the Forest Service has released its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), the final step in rescinding the Roadless Rule. And it has opened an official comment period in which the USDA must accept public feedback. This is our last chan...