Lawsuit: US withholding wildfire fuel break information

Conservationists are accusing federal land managers of illegally withholding information about plans to build fuel breaks to slow wildfires across six western states

RENO, Nev. -- Conservationists are accusing federal land managers of illegally withholding information about environmental assessments used to justify plans to create fuel breaks to slow wildfires by clearing forests and shrubs across six western states with little if any public oversight. The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act in federal court in Reno this week against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. A lawyer for the group says he's disappointed the Biden administration is continuing the “obstructionist tactics” of the Trump administration, which first announced the plans last year. The center is seeking more details about potential projects on federal rangeland across 348,000 square miles (901,300 square kilometers) — an area twice as big as the states of New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio combined.