Florida's three national forests are at risk of losing "tens of thousands of acres" to logging and road construction, threatening nearly 40 animal species and "more than 130 threatened and endangered plant species" under a proposed protection rollback,
In August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture moved to rescind a quarter-century rule that protected "millions of acres of the nation’s public forests from road construction and timber production" in its entirety (Tampa Bay Times, Florida’s 3 national forests at risk of logging, new roads under Trump rollback, groups warn)
Rescinding the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule could adversely affect the Florida scrub jay in the Ocala National Forest, the red-cockaded woodpeckers in the Apalachicola National Forest, and "could polute lakes and ponds that house the Suwannee alligator snapping turtle in the Osceola National Forest."
By Monday afternoon, more than 325,000 comments were left on the federal register about the rollbacks.
If you'd like to make a comment, the deadline ends Tuesday at midnight. You can weigh in by visiting https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FS-2025-0001.
If you'd like to read the Tampa Bay Times article in its entirety, click here. Click here to read the USDA press release.
