Attorney General Bonta Disputes Another Trump Administration Proposal That Would Harm Our National Forests
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra - Press Releases · · g5378538
September 23, 2026 Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, alongside a multistate coalition of attorneys general, submitted a comment letter opposing the United States Forest Service’s (USFS) proposed revisions to the Travel Management Rule (TMR), aimed at opening the country’s National Forests to increased motorized vehicle use. The current TMR, established in 2005, provides guidelines and standards for where motorized vehicles can and cannot travel within National Forests, which reduces user conflicts and protects the environment. Now, the USFS is proposing to remove restrictions and open more roads (including dirt/gravel roads) and trails to motorized use, continuing its rollbacks of rules and safeguards that protect our National Forests . In today’s comment letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition highlight how the Trump Administration’s proposed revisions threaten vulnerable ecosystems, undermine years of careful recreational planning, and jeopardize clean water resources and wildlife habitat. “The health and wellbeing of our protected lands will not be run over by the President’s overreaching political agenda. California is home to renowned forests and cherished ecosystems that must be preserved and shared responsibly,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The facts overwhelmingly show that more roadbuilding and motorized vehicle usage in our forests will fragment and destroy wildlife habitats, degrade water quality, and increase the risk of wildfires. We have a responsibility to preserve and protect the great outdoors, and we’re urging this Administration to immediately rethink its course of action.” Established in 2005, the current TMR aims to protect the National Forests by designating roads, trails, and areas expressly open or closed to recreational vehicle use. Among other things, the rule was implemented to protect wildlife, promote clean watersheds, and reduce conflicts between visitors using passenger and off-road vehicles and visitors traveling on foot, bicycle, or horseback. The TMR further provided for public input and Tribal coordination in designating roads, trails, and areas open and closed to various types of recreation that are published in maps for each National Forest. This August, in response to an Executive Order from the Trump Administration, the USFS announced its intent to revise this rule. The proposed revisions would open and remove restrictions on existing roads and establish new roads and trails for motorized vehicle use in the National Forests, including the 20 National Forests in California, the Sequoia National Forest and Tahoe National Forest included. The proposal also builds on the Trump Administration’s recent proposal to rescind the USFS’s Roadless Rule , which currently prevents road construction and timber harvesting in unfragmented stretches of National Forest land nationwide. The proposed rescission of both rules demonstrates a coordinated and flagrant attack on publicly-owned forest lands that would open millions of acres to road construction, logging, and other development. In the comment letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition urge the USFS to rescind its proposal and assert that: The USFS should examine a reasonable range of alternative strategies to its proposal. The USFS must comply with NEPA by considering all environmental impacts of revising the TMR in its Environmental Impact Statement. The USFS must comply with other statutory requirements, including under the Endangered Species Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. The USFS should provide for more public participation in this proposal, which would have broad, nationwide impacts on our National Forests. The USFS should not have initiated the TMR rulemaking at the same time it is proposing to roll back the Roadless Rule, because the USFS cannot assess the environmental impacts and implementation feasibility of the proposed revisions to the TMR until it has decided what action to take on the Roadless Rule. In sending today’s comment letter, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, Minnesota, Washington, and Wisconsin. Here is a copy of the comment letter. Tags: Environment Federal Accountability Federal Accountability: Environment
September 23, 2026 Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, alongside a multistate coalition of attorneys general, submitted a comment letter opposing the United States Forest Service’s (USFS) proposed revisions to the Travel Management Rule (TMR), aimed at opening the country’s National Forests to increased motorized vehicle use. The current TMR, established in 2005, provides guidelines and standards for where motorized vehicles can and cannot travel within National Forests, which reduces user conflicts and protects the environment. Now, the USFS is proposing to remove restrictions and open more roads (including dirt/gravel roads) and trails to motorized use, continuing its rollbacks of rules and safeguards that protect our National Forests . In today’s comment letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition highlight how the Trump Administration’s proposed revisions threaten vulnerable ecosystems, undermine years of careful recreational planning, and jeopardize clean water resources and wildlife habitat. “The health and wellbeing of our protected lands will not be run over by the President’s overreaching political agenda. California is home to renowned forests and cherished ecosystems that must be preserved and shared responsibly,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The facts overwhelmingly show that more roadbuilding and motorized vehicle usage in our forests will fragment and destroy wildlife habitats, degrade water quality, and increase the risk of wildfires. We have a responsibility to preserve and protect the great outdoors, and we’re urging this Administration to immediately rethink its course of action.” Established in 2005, the current TMR aims to protect the National Forests by designating roads, trails, and areas expressly open or closed to recreational vehicle use. Among other things, the rule was implemented to protect wildlife, promote clean watersheds, and reduce conflicts between visitors using passenger and off-road vehicles and visitors traveling on foot, bicycle, or horseback. The TMR further provided for public input and Tribal coordination in designating roads, trails, and areas open and closed to various types of recreation that are published in maps for each National Forest. This August, in response to an Executive Order from the Trump Administration, the USFS announced its intent to revise this rule. The proposed revisions would open and remove restrictions on existing roads and establish new roads and trails for motorized vehicle use in the National Forests, including the 20 National Forests in California, the Sequoia National Forest and Tahoe National Forest included. The proposal also builds on the Trump Administration’s recent proposal to rescind the USFS’s Roadless Rule , which currently prevents road construction and timber harvesting in unfragmented stretches of National Forest land nationwide. The proposed rescission of both rules demonstrates a coordinated and flagrant attack on publicly-owned forest lands that would open millions of acres to road construction, logging, and other development. In the comment letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition urge the USFS to rescind its proposal and assert that: The USFS should examine a reasonable range of alternative strategies to its proposal. The USFS must comply with NEPA by considering all environmental impacts of revising the TMR in its Environmental Impact Statement. The USFS must comply with other statutory requirements, including under the Endangered Species Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. The USFS should provide for more public participation in this proposal, which would have broad, nationwide impacts on our National Forests. The USFS should not have initiated the TMR rulemaking at the same time it is proposing to roll back the Roadless Rule, because the USFS cannot assess the environmental impacts and implementation feasibility of the proposed revisions to the TMR until it has decided what action to take on the Roadless Rule. In sending today’s comment letter, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, Minnesota, Washington, and Wisconsin. Here is a copy of the comment letter. Tags: Environment Federal Accountability Federal Accountability: Environment
Источник: California Attorney General Xavier Becerra - Press Releases