FreedomWorks Cheers Trump Administration’s Support for Exempting Alaska From 2001 Roadless Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to the Trump administration’s support for exempting Alaska from the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which established prohibitions on road construction and reconstruction, as well as timber harvesting on vast swathes of land, Dan Savickas, FreedomWorks Regulatory Policy Manager, commented:

“For too long, bureaucrats in Washington have been violating the basic principles of federalism by dictating to states how they should manage their own affairs. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been one of the worst offenders, overregulating the use of vast amounts of private and federal lands across the country.

“For years, the State of Alaska has been petitioning the USDA for an exemption from a 2001 rule that prohibits any road construction or timber harvesting on more than 58 million acres of National Forests. The Trump administration’s decision to potentially grant Alaska’s petition marks yet another important deregulatory victory. It would build on the success of the 2017 decision by the Department of Interior to give swathes of federal land up for state and local use. States are the best stewards of their own land and the federal government should let them, and private citizens, use the land to best meet their needs.”