Attorney General Bonta Opposes Trump Administration’s Attempt to Permanently Exempt Large Logging Projects from Environmental Review

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta and New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez led a multistate coalition in submitting comments to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) opposing its proposed Categorical Exclusions (CEs) for two types of large logging projects - salvage logging and forest and woodland density management. The CEs would exempt these large projects from environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the nation's bedrock environmental law. While these types of projects can be important tools in forest management, they should not be unconditionally, permanently exempted from environmental review at the scale proposed. In the comment letters, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that the proposed CEs violate NEPA and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), threaten our nation's most pristine ecosystems, undermine climate resilience, and jeopardize wildlife habitat.

"Time and again, the Trump Administration has attempted to strip away environmental protections and restrict public participation," said Attorney General Bonta. "This time, they're attempting to recklessly pave the way for exploitation of America's shared land by allowing massive logging projects to proceed without any environmental review or consideration of public comment, regardless of the circumstances. The Administration must withdraw these illegal proposals."

In response to President Trump's Executive Order 14225, "Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production," BLM proposed these CEs on salvage logging and forest and woodland density management. The salvage logging CE would cover salvage logging of dead and dying trees with a project size of up to 5,000 acres, including up to one mile of permanent road construction and up to 2.25 miles of temporary roads per 1,000 acres of logging area to facilitate the logging projects. This would represent a vast increase over the current salvage logging CE, which only allows for projects of up to 250 acres in size that require no more than 0.5 miles of temporary road construction. The forest and woodland density management CE would cover projects of up to 5,000 acres of treatment area and allow for construction of up to five miles of new permanent roads and 2.5 miles of temporary roads for every 1,000 acres of treatment area, dramatically expanding the current CE covering similar projects that only covers a treatment area up to 70 acres with no more than 0.5 mile of temporary road construction. The CEs unnecessarily shortchange public participation and informed decision-making for timber salvage projects, and BLM does not provide an adequate justification for these massive increases in project size that would evade public input and environmental review.

In California, BLM administers 15.2 million acres of public lands, equal to nearly 15% of the state's land area. BLM-managed forest areas are spread throughout the state, but many of these lands are in the coastal ranges of Northern California, including in the California Coastal National Monument, the King Range National Conservation Area, and the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument. BLM also manages areas such as the Fort Ord National Monument near Monterey and the Sand to Snow National Monument outside of Palm Springs. BLM lands in California provide habitat for 34 animals and 68 plants listed as endangered or threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act, such as the bighorn sheep and Pacific fisher, as well as numerous other sensitive species that depend on forest habitat, such as the California spotted owl.

In the comment letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition assert that the CEs as proposed are arbitrary and capricious in violation of the APA and NEPA because:

• BLM fails to adequately consider potential environmental impacts of the large-scale increase in the size of the projects receiving CEs under NEPA, especially when the CEs are unconditional and available perpetually, regardless of project details or circumstances.
• The CEs cannot prioritize an increase in timber production and efficiency at the expense of factors that must be considered under NEPA.
• BLM fails to offer any reasoned explanation for changes that would significantly reduce opportunities for public participation by local communities and other interested parties, even though facilitation of public involvement is a core tenet of NEPA.

In filing this comment letter, Attorney General Bonta co-leads the attorneys general of New Mexico, Colorado, and Washington.