Trump administration plans to yank "roadless rule" that impedes logging on 59 million acres of national forests

The Trump administration plans to rescind a nearly quarter-century-old rule that blocked logging on national forest lands, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Monday.

The "roadless rule" adopted in the last days of Bill Clinton's presidency in 2001 long has chafed Republican lawmakers, especially in the West where national forests sprawl across vast, mountainous terrain and the logging industry has waned.

The rule impeded road construction and "responsible timber production" that would have helped reduce the risk of major wildfires, Rollins said at the annual meeting of the Western Governors Association.